


In My Flesh

by Fayaheda, MentalMassDebation



Series: Imprinting Collection [1]
Category: In the Flesh (TV), Twilight (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Best Dead Friends Forever, Blood and Gore, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Family, Flashbacks, Fluff, Gen, Imprinting, Mentions of other characters - Freeform, Pack Family, Partially Deceased Syndrome, Past Character Death, Past Child Abuse, Past Sexual Abuse, Self-Acceptance, Self-Hatred, Suicide, The Rising (In the Flesh), True Love, True Mates, Violence, possible triggers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-20
Updated: 2015-06-30
Packaged: 2018-02-26 10:22:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 41,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2648513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fayaheda/pseuds/Fayaheda, https://archiveofourown.org/users/MentalMassDebation/pseuds/MentalMassDebation
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"That's why you are ready; because you're starting to feel."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Starting to Feel

**Author's Note:**

> This story formerly belonged to the user to the user on this site - MentalMassDebation - and I now have the ultimate pleasure of completing it in my own way, so thank you for that honour!  
> :)
> 
> If you've never heard of the British series called 'In the Flesh' then I severely suggest you check it out, because it's TOTALLY effing awesome!
> 
> Anyway, maybe lemme know your thoughts on the whole thing.
> 
> Oh, and obviously, the first twenty chapters are written by MentalMassDebation, everything after shall be in my own words. I didn't really wanna mess the plot up, so that's why.
> 
> [Chapter by MentalMassDebation.]

For some of them, it was merely a means of survival. For some of them, they just wanted to forget what they had done.

For Korin, the memories still haunted her as if she were still stuck back in that Hell...

...She found herself back in that supermarket. It was completely abandoned, it had been for months now, just like all the other town's buildings. The electric was barely still running, the lights flickering as she slumped slowly down the trashed isles.

She was covered in blood, maybe hers, probably a lot that wasn't hers as well, not that it bothered her in her current head-space. She was void of all her emotions, but she at least she knew that she should be feeling. Instead, all she felt now was as much as her glazed over crystal-lined eyes could see. However, along with the rest of her kind, she could smell human flesh better than a hound could sniff out a drop of blood.

Trudging slowly down the isle, she paused upon hearing the loud laugh of a female close by. That sound was all she needed to know that she wasn't going to go hungry tonight as she quickly began following the scent of young flesh...

...And then before she could even remember anything else happening, she pounced.

She let out a loud groan -- that being all she was vocally capable of -- to announce her presence.

The young mocha-skinned teenage girl swirled around and shrieked, instantly jumping away from the filthy undead creature. She quickly reached inside her pocket and pulled out her walkie-talkie in a blind panic.

She simply watched the human girl, wearing her usual vacant expression, though her pale white orbs were coated in hunger for the flesh. On that driven instinct alone, she lurched forward, grabbing the girl by the shoulders and gripping her tightly...

...Korin shook her head, her eyes screwed tightly shut. "No! No, please... Stop..."

...The girl screamed out in utter terror as an undead male crept up behind her from out of no where and grabbed her from behind as well.

The two undeads held tightly onto their meal's arms, dragging her over to the nearest metal shelf and smashing her head into it, repeatedly...

...Korin shook her head, her eyes still shut tight. "No! No! No! No! Stop it! Please! Just stop!" She yelled at the top of her lungs. She felt herself begin to shake all over, until she realised that it wasn't just her own body shaking itself.

"Korin!"

"No! No!" Korin yelled, feeling her shoulders being gripped tightly.

"Korin! It's okay! You're safe! Open your eyes!"

Whoever was trying to get through to her began to shake Korin gently by the grip on her shoulders. She suddenly stilled herself completely, taking deep breaths and trying to calm herself down. When she had finally managed to push the horrific memories aside, she slowly cracked open her crystal white orbs. Slowly, she lifted her gaze, finally remembering where she was and let out a huge sigh of relief.

Dr. Cullen looked deeply concerned as he eyed her for a few moments. "Are you okay, my dear?" He asked, his voice as soft as silk, as usual.

Korin glanced at her surroundings, her eyes drifting slowly around his office before landing back on his bright honey irises. She simply nodded back at him, biting her bottom lip rather anxiously in the process.

"Another flashback?" Dr. Cullen asked, still eyeing her with rather curious concern.

Korin nodded again, her eyes filled with terror -- not that her completely white irises showed it, which she was actually kind of grateful for. "They're getting more vivid." She told him, taking a few deep breaths -- mainly to calm her nerves, since she didn't exactly need to breath anymore.

Dr. Cullen pursed his lips, looking slightly sympathetic towards her before nodding. "I think it's time for another shot, then." He stated, though he threw her a look as if asking for her permission.

Korin simply nodded again. Her mind was still reeling from the horrid images, the terrible memories.

Dr. Cullen pulled out a small key, using it to unlock the small drawer under his large oak desk. Opening the drawer, he pulled out a small wooden box, closing the drawer and placing the box on his desk. After opening the wooden box, he rose from his seat and walked around his desk with the large syringe in his hands. "Are you ready?" He asked, shooting her a soft reassuring look.

Korin forced a tiny smile as she eyed the bright green liquid in the syringe tube and simply nodded in response.

Dr. Cullen nodded, shooting her another reassuring smile behind walking around her and standing behind her chair. When she bent her head forward, exposing the back of her neck to him, he quickly swiped away the loose strands of her hair and then carefully plunged the syringe into the small black dot in the back of her neck.

As soon as the needle was pulled back out of her undead flesh, Korin began to seize rather violently for a few moments.

Dr. Cullen quickly tossed the syringe onto his desk before darting back over to her with impeccable speed. He knelt down in front of her, reaching out and grasping her shoulders to hold her in place. After a few more moments, the shaking subsided completely and he finally let go, walking back over to his desk to put away the special syringe just for her.

Korin panted heavy, trying to shake off the disorientating feeling. "I don't think the medicine is helping. The flashbacks, the emotions, all of it... It's getting worse." She rambled, shooting him a helpless look.

Dr. Cullen simply smiled, shaking his head to himself as he took his seat behind his desk again. "That's a good thing, Korin, I can assure you. It means that you're brain is responding to the treatment, which means that the treatment is working." He explained.

Korin didn't look convinced at all. She looked more worried than anything else.

"Be thankful that's happening." Dr. Cullen told her, his expression suddenly growing slightly serious. "Some of the patients don't respond at all. And well, you don't want to be one of them..." He stated in a rather grave tone.

Korin frowned. She felt something between dread and curiosity. "The other patients..." She began, her voice slightly timid. "The ones that don't respond... What happens to them?" She asked. She had a feeling she didn't really want to know, but her curiosity got the better of her once again.

Dr. Cullen looked hesitant to reply, but he did after a couple of seconds. "Let's just say they're taken care of and leave it at that."

Korin frowned. In not telling her exactly what he meant, she somehow knew exactly what he meant anyway.

Dr. Cullen sighed loudly, trying to break the morbid silence and slapped on a wide and excited grin. "So, I'm very pleased with your progress. I think you'll be able to return home very soon." He told her, hoping to lift her mood.

Sadly, it only seemed to make things worse -- Korin's face paled even more, if possible. Her eyes widened in terror as she shook her head furiously. "No. No. I'm not ready." She told him, wearing a pleading look.

"Of course you are," Dr. Cullen insisted, his voice as soft as his expression.

Korin continued to shake her head. "No. I --"

"Are you not looking forward to seeing your family and friends again?" Dr. Cullen asked, looking a little confused.

Korin shot him a horrified look. "Um..." She mumbled nervously.

Dr. Cullen frowned. "Why not?" He asked.

Korin stared at him as if he was completely insane. "Um, because I'm a zombie. And I've killed people --" She explained as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, which it kind of was.

"No." Dr. Cullen cut in again, his voice stern and his expression disapproving.

Korin rolled her eyes, immediately recognising her mistake.

"Korin, what are you?" Dr. Cullen asked, shooting her a expectant look.

Korin stared blankly at him, silently challenging him. After a few moments of a staring competition, she finally gave up with a loud huff of defeat. "I am..." She hesitated, let out another, more frustrated huff this time and then finally said the magic words the doctor was waiting to hear. "I am a Partially Deceased Syndrome sufferer..." She said, loud and clear for emphasis and also a little sarcasm.

"And?" Dr. Cullen urged, shooting her another expectant look.

Korin let out another, more irritated huff; she had though she had gotten away with that. "And," She added, slumping down in her seat. "What I did in my untreated state was not my fault."

"Good." Dr. Cullen said, nodding in approval.

Korin shot him another pleading look, trying the soft approach instead. "Doc', I'm not ready. I'm not... I feel --"

"Exactly." Dr. Cullen cut in, smiling fondly at the young undead girl. "That's why you are ready; because you're feeling."


	2. Sulk and Soak

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Fine. Whatever. Sulk and soak in your pathetic misery. I don't care. I'm going."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Chapter by MentalMassDebation.]

For the first time since she had first phased into a giant Stallion-sized wolf, Leah was utterly terrified.

It had been just over four years since her life has changed forever and also since her father had passed on into the Spirit world. And it had been almost five years since "the Rising" -- as most people called it. And then, it had been almost six and a half years since her best friend has left her for the Spirit world, too.

However, none of those experiences were enough to help Leah from what was going to happen today.

Today, her best friend was finally coming back home to her.

+

Sue eyed her daughter cautiously -- also knowing that she could probably sense her staring. She watched as her daughter poured herself a cup of coffee and didn't like how calm she seemed to be about the entire thing. "Leah, are you okay, honey?" She asked softly.

Leah slowly turned around with her coffee mug clasped in her hands. She nodded at her mother and offered a small smile.

Sue smiled knowingly. "It's okay to be nervous. I'm sure she feels ten times worse." She stated with a sad frown.

Leah frowned slightly, too. "Yeah..." She muttered before turning around and placing her now empty mug in the sink. "Where's Seth? He's supposed to be coming with me." She said, eyeing her mother curiously.

Sue shifted awkwardly in the doorway. "Um, well... He said he's not..."

Leah frowned, obviously confused. "But he's the one who found her."

Sue nodded, sighing sadly. "I know. But I think it's all finally sunk in for him. He's taking it kinda horribly. Completely ignored me this morning, stormed out, slammed the door and hasn't returned." She explained, shrugging with a slightly hopeless look.

Leah was a little surprised.

Out of the entire pack, Seth was always completely in control of his emotions as well as his thoughts. Even before he had first phased, he was always the most level-head, clear- minded person she had ever known. Even if -- as his big sister -- that did make her a little bias, but she wasn't the only one who thought so.

"He just needs a little time." Sue noted, shooting her daughter a reasoning look when she noticed the slight irritation in her dark brown orbs.

Leah rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I, myself, have run out of time." She stated, her tone sarcastic. "I gotta go." She chirped, grabbing her car keys from the kitchen table and shoving them into her jacket pocket. "If you see Seth, tell him he's a douche."

"Tell me yourself." Seth piped up, appearing in the doorway beside their mother.

Leah glared at him as he glared back over at her. "You're a douche." She said before brushing roughly passed him and walking out into the hallway.

"You're not foolin' anyone, Lee-Lee."

Leah immediately halted in her tracks, her teeth gritted.

She knew he knew that she hated that nickname. She took a deep breath to calm her stirring anger before slowly turning back around to face him.

Seth stared rather vacantly at her and it was a little scary for the two woman who loved him the most. He looked almost unrecognisable.

"What're you talking about?" Leah chided, going for the humouring approach. Though, mainly to keep herself from phasing in the house out of her anger alone driving her over the edge. And it wasn't as if that hadn't happened more than once before.

"I'm talking about that stupid mask you pull on any time anyone ever mentions her name." Seth explained, scowling slightly.

"Seth," Sue whispered, frowning slightly.

She knew her son was aching, but this was so unlike him.

Seth ignored his mother completely, his stoney scowl still planted on his sister. "You're not foolin' anyone. Not even yourself." He stated in a matter of fact before turning around and walking into the kitchen.

Something inside of Leah snapped, but thankfully, she was able to hold on just enough so that she didn't phase -- their mother would surely kill them both. She darted back down the hallway and into the kitchen and was in front of him in a matter of seconds. "What the fuck is your problem!?" She snapped, folding her arms over her chest and glaring up at him.

She hadn't noticed how tall her had really grown until now. It seemed to happen after his 19th birthday a few months ago; he'd finally filled out to his fullest and wasn't the baby Clearwater she remembered anymore.

Seth simply rolled his eyes and walked around her to open the fridge behind her.

"Look, are you coming or not?" Leah asked impatiently.

Seth snorted. "Not." He muttered, not even bothering to tear his hungry eyes from the contents of the fridge.

Leah glared at the side of his head. "Why the hell not?" She asked, arching a brow. "You used to absolutely adore her. She used to take care of you as a kid. You used to have that cute little crush on her." She reminded, hoping to break through to him.

Seth glanced blankly up at her for a few moments. "Used to." He mumbled with a rather sad sigh before delving back into the fridge and fishing out the leftovers over a roast chicken dinner.

"Seth," Sue tried again.

"No." Seth said, cutting both women off instantly with a defiant glare. "It's not the same anymore... She's... She's not the same..." He said, his voice barely above a whisper as he plopped down at the breakfast table.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Leah asked, looking as utterly offended as she sounded. "You're not exactly the same anymore, either." She reminded, shooting him a pointed glare.

"Of all the people, Seth --" Sue gasped, looking a little offended, too and a little upset by her son's new and horrible attitude. "I never thought you'd be one to judge so quickly."

Leah nodded in agreement with her mother, still glaring at her brother. "Yeah. Out of the entire pack, you're always the annoying little shit that keeps telling us how we should honoured to have such responsibility bestowed upon us by the Spirits' magicks." She pointed out, her tone rather snooty.

Seth simply glared back up at his sister as he began to "wolf" down the large tray of leftover chicken and potatoes.

Leah let out a loud and defeated huff, throwing her hands up in the air. "Fine. Whatever. Sulk and soak in your pathetic misery. I don't care. I'm going. Mom, I'll call you when we're on our way back." She said, giving up altogether and storming off back out of the kitchen.


	3. Human Remnants

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "We're all human remnants here."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Chapter by MentalMassDebation.]

When Leah was driving up to Seattle, she  
felt anxious.

When Leah finally pulled up to the small, but rather lavish private building, she felt more nervous than anything else.

And then when Leah found herself waiting in the Cullen's large and equally lavish living room, she felt utterly terrified.

"Hello, Leah."

Leah snapped out of her streaming thoughts and glanced up at the pale face with the most gentle and compassion honey-glowing orbs she had ever seen. "Hey." She mumbled, managing to force a small smile as she slowly rose from the leather couch. "Is she ready?" She asked, unable to keep the nervous waver coming through her question.

Dr. Cullen shot her a gentle, reassuring smile and nodded. "She'll be right down."

Leah simply nodded. A few more seconds passed as she bounced anxiously on the tips of his feet and then suddenly she felt that familiar, comforting presence take hold of the room. She froze for a moment before finally turning around to find her best friend standing a the top of the staircase, staring back down at her. She didn't really know what to think in that moment and she hadn't known exactly how she'd react, but she certainly surprised her. She thought she would have taken one look at her and gone the same way Seth had, but it was as if she really, truly did have her best friend back.

She looked completely normal. Very pale in the flesh, but other than that, she looked just as she used to.

Korin was rooted to her spot at the top of the stairs. She could see the small smile forming on her best friend's lips, but it wasn't enough for her.

Of course she looked normal. Of course she wouldn't want Leah to see her true face. Make-up and contacts helped with that, a lot and she was suddenly immensely thankful for that.

"Korin," Esme called softly, suddenly appearing beside the suddenly frail- looking undead girl. "It's okay, sweetheart." She coaxed, gently laying a hand on her shoulder and shooting her a reassuring smile. "Leah's here to take you home. She can help you now."

Leah shot a the female vampire a small grateful smile before turning her gaze back to her best friend; who looked like a baby deer caught in the headlights. "Hey, Korin." She said, smiling sheepishly and sending her a small wave.

Korin glanced briefly to Esme, who smiled and nodded encouragingly. She slowly turned back to face her best friend and forced on a small smile just as she forced herself to finally descend the stairs.

Leah stared at Korin as she stared back at her once they were a mere foot apart. The look of pure amazement and joy that shone upon the shifter's face was enough to warm the undead girl's still-beating heart.

It finally became a little too much for Leah and she suddenly began to feel heavy tears brimming her eyes. Without another word, she simply closed the gap between them, wrapped her arms around the smaller girl and hugged her tightly around the shoulders.

Korin froze for a few seconds and only when Leah tightened her grip, did she slowly reached her arms up and rest them gently upon her friend's incredibly warm back.

Esme stood beside her husband, both vampires smiling softly to themselves as they watched the rather touching reunion.

"I hope you don't mind," Carlisle began as the two girls finally managed to pull apart. "I told Korin about the pack." He stated, wearing a knowing look.

Leah nodded. "Yeah. I guess it's fair." She agreed. "We're all human remnants here." She joked with a light chuckle, mainly trying to lighten the mood a little.

Korin was a little surprised that she actually managed a small chuckle, too.

She hadn't so much as smiled genuinely for a very long time now. Ironically, that was mainly because of Leah, herself, but now there was no place Korin would have rather been. She was just happy to have her best friend back. And she, of course, could never let Leah know her real reasons for her past decisions, not even if she begged. The truth would probably kill them both and that's what terrified her.

However, above everything, Leah was always the one who could easily cheer her up and make her crack a smile and she had missed that part of their friendship the most.


	4. Do You Eat?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Do you eat?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Chapter by MentalMassDebation.]

"It's okay, Leah - you don't have to beat around the bush. If you've got a question to ask me, then just ask me. We're still best friends, right?" Korin asked, glancing over to the driver's side.

She was a little hesitant to ask that, but she had to know. If they were indeed still friends, she wanted to be treated the same way she always had been.

Leah had forgotten how easily her best friend could read her. "I... Jeez, I don't really know where to start, to be honest, Rin." She admitted, looking a confused and a little lost.

Korin smiled at the old nickname, the nickname that only Leah and Seth addressed her by. 'Seth...' She frowned softly. 'Dear spirits, how did I forget about him?'

"But yeah, we're still friends. Definitely." Leah added quickly, shooting her best friend a wide smile. "Best fucking friends forever, right?" She chimed.

Korin shoved away from her thoughts. She simply nodded, flashing a quick smile.

"Do you eat?" Leah suddenly asked, glancing curiously from the corner of her eye as she kept her main focus on the road ahead.

Korin looked confused for a second until she had finally registered the question and then let out a small chuckle. "No." She replied, shaking her head. "I don't drink, either."

Leah nodded, but seemed a little more intrigued. "So, what would happen if you were to eat, anyway? Would the food just rot away, like it does for vamps?" She asked, sounding very casual and lighthearted about the entire situation.

Korin was rather surprised by this, but pleasantly so.

She thought that Leah would have been her biggest problem, but it turned out that she had nothing to fear.

What would happen when she met up with the others again was probably an entirely different story though.

"Um, well, it doesn't stay in our bodies long enough to rot. We literally puke it back up a few hours later, so there's really no point." She explained.

She was trying to act as casual as her shape-shifting best friend, but the truth was that she hated talking about what she really was, almost as much as she hated actually being what she really was.

Leah nodded again. "So, I guess that means you never need to use the bathroom." She half-joked.

Korin smiled, her eyes lit up slightly in amusement.

She didn't think she would be able to act so naturally around anyone, especially the people closest to her, but with Leah. And even if Leah was a rather headstrong and highly opinionated person, it was still easy to be around her, to be her best friend again; her sister. And she probably should have know that.

"No." She replied just for confirmation.

Leah chuckled to herself, thankful that the mood in the car had shifted into a lighter one. "What about sleep?" She asked, glancing curiously at her best friend.

Korin smiled at her enthusiasm. "Yes, I can sleep." She confirmed. "I can dream, too." She added, smiling rather proudly to herself. "I mean, it only happens if I use the treatment. It took a little while after I was first treated for me to adjust. But... I'm getting there. Slowly, slowly." She added with a small, sheepish smile.

Leah knew it would take some time getting used to the new adjustments, but she was more than willing to wait patiently. This time, there were no secrets and she wasn't going to let her best friend go ever again.

"What'd you dream about?" She asked.

Korin frowned slightly as the memories slowly began to fill her half-tapped brain. "Oh, just the usual random bull." She stated a little too casually. She knew that

Leah had noticed, but thankfully, she didn't press the matter with any follow-up inquiries.

"Rin," Leah began, her voice rather quiet and also a little hesitant.

Korin stared at her best friend curiously, silently urging her to continue.

"Do you remember what happened?" Leah finally forced herself to ask.

She just had to know, because it was still eating away at her from the inside, out.

Korin frowned slightly. "What'd you mean?" She asked timidly.

She had a feeling she knew exactly what the female shifter meant, but she had to hear the words out loud for herself.

Leah let out a sad little sigh, briefly glancing away from the road and over at her beloved sister. "Do you remember anything before you were found and brought to the Cullen's?" She elaborated, her voice slightly cautious.

That wasn't quite what Korin had been expecting, but it was close enough.

"Um, a little bit... I get flashbacks sometimes." She explained.

She wanted to be as honest as possible without actually spilling any of the gory and unforgiving details.

"Do you know who found you?" Leah asked warily.

Korin frowned, wondering what her best friend was trying to hint at.

It seemed like the female shifter was fishing for information and that only confused the undead girl even more.

"Um... No." She finally replied, shaking her head.

Leah let out a small breath that she hadn't noticed she was holding onto and nodded to herself, letting the information sink in.

She wondered if she should just tell her about what really happened when Seth found her, but it felt wrong to her, it felt as though Seth should have been the one to explain himself.

After a few moments, she quickly decided.

"Okay." She said, nodding. "I just wanted to know the name of the person who brought my sister back to me, so that I could thank them, face to face." She explained, feeling incredibly guilty for lying as soon as the words parted from her lips.

The truth was, well, that was the truth; she did want to thank her brother, but he wasn't exactly in the gracious "phase" of his life right now. That probably had something to do with Korin, herself, but it's not like it was entirely her fault.

Korin eyed her suspiciously for a few moments, but let it be.

Right now, she still had to meet up with the rest of the tribe; her dear family and her darling friends.

"Y'know, my mom can't wait to see you." Leah informed her best friend, smiling broadly over at her.

Korin smiled softly to herself as she thought of Sue's constant warm and kind expression. "Really?" She asked, sounding surprised.

Leah grinned and nodded.

"What about Seth?" Korin asked, her eyes lit up with a little hope.

However, at her best friend's sudden awkward silence, the answer was all too painfully clear.

Seth was always like a baby brother to her, as he was to Leah and the three of them had always shared a special connection, a magical connection.

"Seth is..." Leah trailed off, not really knowing what to say. "Well, he's still really upset about what happened."

Korin nodded, her gaze falling down to her lap. "Yeah. I guess he has a right to hate me." She mumbled to herself.

How could she have been so selfish?

Did she even stop to think?

For a split second?

Leah sighed. "He doesn't hate you. I promise you that. He's just a little angry. He'll get over it. He has to. He can't sulk forever."

Korin managed a small smile. "Leah, I can't force him to be okay with this. I'm not the same anymore --"

"And neither is he." Leah cut in, shooting her a pointed look. "We've all changed in the last few years, Rin."


	5. No Offence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I guess I should be grateful... No offence."

When they finally crossed over the boarder of Forks and into the La Push reservation, Korin was pleased to see that not a whole lot had changed in the last few years since she had been gone.

When they finally turned the dusty road slowly pulled up to the familiar little apple green- painted wooden house, Korin began to grow more and more nervous.

And when Leah finally parked her old dark green Jeep in the familiar front yard, Korin's heart would have been beating hard against her chest, if only it could beat at all.

Leah noticed the shift in her best friend's mood almost instantly when she glanced over at her. "Hey, don't worry." She told her, her voice soft and calming. "Pretty much everyone wanted to see you, but I told them to give you a little time first. So, it's just my mom and I." She stated with a reassuring smile.

Korin nodded, shooting her best friend a small, but grateful smile.

She didn't bother to ask if Seth would be there, because she had a feeling he wouldn't want to be anywhere near her. And she didn't really blame him for that.

"What about Harry? Where's he?" She asked.

Leah froze for a second.

How could she have forgotten to tell her?

"Um... He's..." She trailed off quietly, the aching lump forming at the back of her throat at the mere mention of her late dear old father.

Korin frowned, looking a little confused at her best friend's half-hearted response. After a few short moments, her eyes slowly widened in realisation. "Oh..." She mumbled, glancing sadly down at her lap. "Oh, Leah, I'm so sorry." She said. She didn't know what else to say.

"It's okay, it's my own fault -- I should have told you sooner." Leah mumbled back, shrugging her shoulders lazily after finally killing the engine and shoving her keys into her jeans pocket.

"When did he..." Korin wanted to know what happened, but she was too wary to ask.

On one hand, she always knew how reserved and rather closed-off her best friend was and on the other hand, she didn't think she really deserved to ask in the first place.

'How could I have been so selfish? So self-absorbed? I should have been there...'

"About four years ago." Leah replied knowingly.

Korin simply nodded, again, not really  
knowing what else to say.

"It's the reason I first phased... When I found out, it was just too much and I couldn't deal. Especially not after you left beforehand." Leah explained in deadpan.

After a few moments of rather comfortable silence between the best friends, Leah found herself wondering and slightly dreading, too. "Did you ever..." She hesitated, but only for a second or so as Korin glanced over at her curiously. "Did you ever see him after you woke up?" She asked rather timidly.

Korin frowned, looking slightly confused  
again before suddenly realising what she  
meant. "Oh... No... Leah, I don't think he..."

This was a lot harder to speak about that she had first realised.

"I don't think he rose after he died..."

Leah glanced over at her with a confused  
little frown. "Why not?" She asked, her  
tone slightly challenging, but in a rather  
childish way.

Korin let out a sigh. "Well, because it only happened once and we all rose at the same time... As far as I know, anyway." She explained as clearly as she could, but even she still didn't know all the facts. "It was just a wave; a one time thing. And Harry died two years after the Rising, didn't he?"

Leah sighed sadly, but nodded. She looked slightly disappointed and yet somehow relieved, too. "Yeah." She muttered under her breath, glaring over at the steering wheel.

Korin frowned, feeling concerned.

It was clear that Leah still wasn't over the death of her father. She could only imagine how Seth must have taken it.

"Leah, are you okay?" She asked softly, resting a hand gently on her sister's burning shoulder.

Leah nodded limply. "I guess I should be grateful... No offence." She added with a sheepish smile.

Korin smiled at that, shaking her head. "None taken." She replied. "I wouldn't wish this on anyone."

Leah frowned slightly at that. "You're still the same, Rin." She told her. "I know who you are. You are my soul sister. And I love who you are. And that has to mean something, right?" She chirped. It was clear that she wasn't asking for an answer on that question.

Korin managed to force a wide smile and  
nodded. "I love you, too, Lil."

Leah's lips instantly spread into a wide grin upon hearing her old nickname; the nickname that only Korin could address her by and maybe her mother. She hadn't heard that old nickname in such a long time until now.

"Come on," She chimed, reaching for the door-handle. "I can hear my mom practically bouncing on the balls of her feet. I'm surprised she hasn't ripped the front door off it's hinges to come get us by now." She joked with a roll of her eyes. Korin chuckled quietly to herself.

This wolf thing would take some getting used to.

Then again, who was she to speak of getting used to the abnormal?

She quickly opened the passenger's door and got out, shutting it behind her and walking over to Leah, who stood waiting for her.

"Relax." Leah chimed, smiling reassuring down at the shorter girl when she saw the rather terrified expression on her pale russet face.

Korin slowly followed behind her best friend as they approached the house. The closer she got, the more she wanted to turn around and flee in the opposite direction. And then when they finally reached the front door, she knew it was too late to escape.


	6. Quileute

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "My darling, you are Quileute. You always were and you always will be."

When Sue finally laid her brown eyes back onto Korin, the first words she could just about managed to breath out were: "Oh, my..."

Korin stood, frozen rather uncomfortably in the doorway to the kitchen as she stared back at the familiar middle-aged Quileute woman. And like she had been with Leah when she first saw her, Korin really know what to say or how to act.

Leah stood just behind her, out in the hallway. Her eyes drifted back and forth between her mother and her undead best friend, analysing the situation silently for a few moments. But she was there for her best friend, just in case she needed her.

Sue had to admit that she was a little surprised.

She had expected something...

Different.

But when she looked at Korin, really looked at her, she could still see the little girl that she used to babysit and then later brought up herself, along with her dear late husband.

"Oh, my darling..." She whispered, tears already brimming her eyes and some already rolling down her russet cheeks. "My darling, darling girl. Come here." She said, darting for the undead girl.

Korin was rather amazed when the woman simply wrapped her arms around her shoulders and pulled her into a tight hug, just as her daughter had.

Leah smiled softly to herself, watching the touching little reunion.

After a few moments, Sue finally let go of her "step-daughter" and took a step back to really look at her this time. "You look..." She trailed off, though there was a wide and happy smile playing on her lips. "You look like you." She finally said.

Korin smiled knowingly. "Yeah... Contact lenses and a lot of foundation make-up helps." She half-joked, trying to lighten the mood a little. "Thought I ought to blend in with the tribe."

Sue waved a dismissive hand. "My darling, you are Quileute. You always were and you always will be." She assured with a wide and joyful grin.

Leah grinned proudly, glancing at her best friend and then back to her mother.

She had to admit, she was wary about her mother's real reaction, but it seemed to turn out just right.

However, the pack were probably going to be a little harder to convince. They'd probably have a hard time accepting a "rotter" -- as most of them and most people, in fact had dubbed Korin's kind. And making them really accept her was the next hurdle.

Korin smiled gratefully at the older woman and was about to open her mouth to speak up again, but instead froze instantly upon suddenly hearing the front door open and close rather loudly. Her eyes widened as she turned to her best friend with a completely terrified look on her pale face.

"It's okay." Leah was quick to reassure her. Quickly, she shifted in front of her best friend, blocking her brother's view of her. "Seth," She began, her voice wary and her stance rather protective.

'Seth?' Korin was sure that if her heart could still beat, that it would have given way from moving so erratically, so suddenly.

Seth paused just inside the front door and glanced down the hallway at his sister, who stood just outside the kitchen doorway, staring back at him. He was about to open his mouth to speak when instead, his nose twitched. Whatever he could suddenly smell, it was incredibly sweet, almost like a vampire -- though, being friends with the Cullen's did seem to let him get used to the awful smell he would usually receive from a leech.

This scent however, it smelt a little too sweet and alluring. And then he felt the sense of familiarity as he inhaled a little deeper, making him frown instantly.

"No..." He whispered, his expression full of dread. "I didn't think you'd be stupid enough to bring her here." He muttered, glaring at his sister.

Leah instantly glared back at him. "Seth, do not start. Not now." She warned, eyeing him pointedly.

Seth scoffed. "Why? What is she gonna do? Kill herself? Again?" He asked, his voice filled with bitter sarcasm.

Korin's still-beating heart felt as if it had literally dropped down into her empty pit of a stomach at his own cold-hearted words. Her head fell limp, her gaze falling to the floor immediately.

Leah's bottom jaw dropped, her eyes widened fully in shock at her sweet, kind- hearted brother's harsh and terrible words.

For the first time ever, he had literally rendered her completely speechless.

Although, she could already feel the rage of his thoughtless remarks eating away at her, just under the surface of her feverishly hot skin.

"Seth!" Sue exclaimed, pushing her way out of the kitchen and into the hallway. As she stood in front of her girls, she shot her only son a look of utter disbelief and mortification. "What has gotten into you, child!?" She demanded to know, now glaring disapprovingly at her youngest offspring.

"I'm not a child!" Seth snapped back.

Though, he felt guilty as soon as he tried to glare over at his mother, who looked even more shocked now, if possible.

"And I am not going to be a part of this... This..." He struggled to her his words out, looking more frustrated than angry now and also kind of a little upset. "This FREAK SHOW!" He finally yelled out at the top of his lungs.

If possible, in that moment, Korin shrunk back into herself even further and turned away from the three Clearwater's. She couldn't even bare to be near him  
anymore, it was too much.

She thought she could handle it, but she was so very wrong.

The little boy that she had loved as her own flesh and blood; the little boy that used to follow her around everywhere like a little puppy -- he was gone, it seemed. And all that seemed to be left was a hard, cold shell of the beautiful little soul he once was.

'I'd hate me, too. So I guess I can't really blame him...' Her mind echoed and she knew it was right -- he deserved to hate her and that was the very least he did deserve. 'What have I done?'

"Stop being such a self-centred jerk, Seth!" Leah snapped, now glaring at her not-so-little brother.

Sue was angry and that was an understatement.

And even she knew Seth's control over his phasing was skilled (even over some of the more experienced and older wolves,) she was still always careful -- besides, she did not want to have to re-decorate her house, again.

"Okay, you need to leave." She told him, her voice deadly calm. "And don't even think of coming back until you sort your head out."

Seth simply scoffed at his mother, though his glaring dark orbs were still locked with his sister's. "Yeah, no problem." He muttered before swiftly turning around and walking back out of the house, slamming the front door behind him.


	7. Good Morning, Sunshine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Oh, good morning, sunshine."

That night, as Korin had guessed, Seth didn't bother to return home.

It was very much to her disappointment, but there was nothing she could do.

Apart from Leah, Seth had been the one person that this undead girl had been looking forward to seeing the most.

And even though she knew Seth was more than capable of looking after himself now, that didn't stop her from worrying over his whereabouts.

The next morning, Korin woke up to the sound of the front door closing -- she knew that it was probably Leah going off to work for the day (like the she-wolf had said she would be). Slowly, she sat up, glancing around her old bedroom -- which Sue and Leah had managed to keep exactly the same -- before finally pulling herself up.

After changing into a pair of black skinny jeans, a long-sleeved dark blue shirt and her trusty old battered red high-top Converse, she crept out of her bedroom and across the hallway into the bathroom.

As she had been since living with the Cullen's, the undead girl began to smother her face with foundation before popping her brown contact lenses back in.

After she was done in the bathroom with her usual undead morning routine (meaning everything minus the use of the toilet), Korin slowly made her way down stairs, following the sound of the rather loud coffee maker.

When she entered the kitchen, she was rather relieved to find that it was only Sue, pottering around.

"Oh, good morning, sunshine." Sue chirped when she turned around and realised she wasn't alone anymore.

Korin offered her a smile. "Morning." She mumbled back before shuffling over to the round wooden breakfast table in the middle of the room and taking a seat.

"Coffee?" Sue asked, still holding the coffee jug in her hands.

Korin's smile widened into a grateful one. "Please."

She knew that she couldn't actually drink, but she wanted to be normal and she never had the heart to turn down anything this immensely kind and caring woman had ever offered her. She knew that was were Seth got his incredibly sweet nature from, whereas Leah was just as hard headed and bossy as her father was, but that was okay, too. That was just Leah and she loved her all the same for it; because she was always true to herself.

Sue shot her a small smile before turning back to the counter and pulling out another mug from the over-hanging cupboard. "So," She began casually when she was done. She walked over to the breakfast table, taking a seat next to the girl she had called her second daughter -- even if she was born before her own daughter. "Did you sleep well?" She asked, her expression as soft and caring as usual.

Korin's mind briefly flashed back to the images and nightmare-filled sleep before she forced on a wide grin and nodded. "Yes." She said. "Um, thank you... For keeping my room, I mean."

Sue's smile softened. "Of course." She replied, then taking a couple of small sips from her coffee mug.

"Um... I... I don't actually consume... Anything... Anymore." Korin mumbled, glancing nervously down at the coffee mug still sitting on the breakfast table in front of her. "I-I just wanna be as normal as possible." She added quickly, seeing the rather confused look on the older woman's face.

Sue's confused expression quickly pulled back into a bright smile as she nodded, seeming to understand. "You don't have to try, Rin-Tin. I told you; you are still Quileute. To the Spirits and to your tribe."

Korin couldn't help the wide smile that tugged at her lips upon hearing that old nickname. "Um... Have you heard from Seth?" She asked quietly, staring down at her mug as she lifted it to her lips, pretending to sip.

Sue sighed sadly and shook her head.  
"No." She replied. "I'm sorry, Korin. I don't know what's gotten into him." She was still angry with her son and having to apologise for him only added encouraged her anger.

"It's okay." Korin mumbled, staring down  
into her coffee mug.

Sue glared to herself and shook her head again. "No, it's really not." She muttered, trying to control her seething temper. "I don't understand what happened. He was fine a few days ago. He was so happy that you were coming home, happier than I've seen him since you went away."

Korin smiled a little how cleverly the older woman thought she was being. 'Went away... Killed myself...'

"I'd ask Leah to talk to him, but she's still pretty angry about last night." Sue explained with a tired sigh.

Suddenly, Korin couldn't bare to carry on with this conversation. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat before slowly placing her coffee mug back down on the breakfast table. "Um, i-is it okay if I take a walk? I just need to clear my head a little.

"Sue simply smiled and nodded. "I think that's a good idea." She agreed. "Just be safe." She added, like she did to Leah and Seth whenever they left the house for patrol or work or even anywhere at all.

After all, they were her babies, no matter how old they grew -- or didn't, in their shape-shifting case.

Korin forced a small smile and nodded before slowly sliding her chair back and  
rising up to her feet.


	8. A Wolfy Thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I know, it's just a wolfy thing."

It took everything she had in her for Korin to resist the urge of going back to that cave.

The small cave hidden halfway up the cliff overlooking First Beach.

The cave that she and Seth had found on one of those typical summer days; the days when the top of his head barely reached her waist; back when he was pretty much the center of her universe.

Not even Leah knew about that cave - well, until they had first phased and probably shared every thought flooding through their minds.

Korin had made a promise to herself while she was "getting better" back at the Cullen's; that she would never go to that little cave she called and Seth called their safe haven. Not unless she really needed to; if things ever got that bad for her.

After walking slowly down the dusty roads, Korin finally arrived onto the dark golden sands of the beach. For a few moments, she just stood there, taking in the familiar scenery and smiling to herself. Nothing had changed and she was glad. At least something around here was still the same.

Upon that thought, her mind slowly drifted back to Seth, himself and how angry he had been last night. He hadn't even bothered to look at her...

Korin quickly shook away her plaguing thoughts, not wanting to deal. with them. Not right now, anyway.

She slowly began to let her eyes drift around the beach again and this time, her gaze settled on two figures in the distance that she hadn't noticed before. She squinted slightly, still struggling to get used to her contacts.

The first figure was very tall and rather large, whereas the second was considerably smaller, almost child-like.

After squinting a little more, Korin finally gave up and slowly began to move across the sand. For some odd reason, she felt like she knew these people, she could just sense it. 'Maybe it's a zombie thing...'

"Nessie, go long!" The larger figure shouted, raising one of his arms before tossing a large round object into the air.

Korin paused in her tracks, her eyes widening as she witnessed the ball soaring at unbelievable heights. Well, unbelievable if she wasn't so undead. However, what she saw next surprised her even more.

The small, child-like figure darted off down the beach at incredible speed before leaping at an equally incredible height. The figure caught the ball in mid-air before gracefully falling back to it's fit on the soft sand.

Korin arched a brow, watching the pair with a rather impressed expression. 'Wait, Nessie? As in... No. No, I'm just imagining things... Again.'

The smaller figure suddenly swirled around, staring right at the undead girl.

Although, Korin couldn't smell any fear radiating from the smaller figure, she could suddenly sense a whole lot of panic, coming from the larger figure. She stood there for a few moments, frozen like a deer in the headlights as the two figures stared at her from across the sand.

A few more moments of awkward tension-filled silence passed before the larger  
figure spoke out ot her.

"Korin?"

Korin frowned slightly, squinting her eyes at the larger figure again. "Do I... Know you?" She asked politely, though, mainly to cover up her nerves.

She just wanted to come out for a nice quiet walk around the reservation. She wasn't expecting to run into anyone she knew or anyone at all. But then again, La Push wasn't exactly ever quiet, despite what any outsiders thoughts. And not just because of the supernatural activity, either.

The larger figure slowly relaxed before coming closer. "Aww, I'm hurt, Ko-Ko." They said, sounding rather hurt, but amused at the same time.

Korin's frown deepened slightly as she took a proper look at the rather large, tall and very well toned man standing before her. "Wait..." She muttered, realisation suddenly washing over her. "Jake? Jacob Black?"

"Bingo." He chimed back, grinning from ear to ear.

Korin's eyes widened as she took him in once more. "Holy crap... You're... You're like a friggin' cage-fighter or something!" She exclaimed, clearly shocked as she tried to comprehend.

She knew that the transformation altered the body in supernatural ways, but this was ridiculous. The kid looked like he could break a fricking car in half!

Jake laughed at that. "Well, you still look the same... Which is a good thing." He added with a reassuring smile.

Korin smiled slightly and was about to answer when the small figure came bounding up out of no where, literally.

Korin's eyes widened slightly as she glanced down at the half-immortal child.

"Nessie" smiled widely, showing off her beautiful pearly whites. "Hi, Korin." She said, her voice as quiet and sweet as usual.

Because of her little gift of being able to show her thoughts through the touch of her fingers, "Nessie" never really spoke all that much. Though, Carlisle and Edward had been encouraging her to. Bella, not so much. She was proud of her "baby" they way she was and ever chose to be.

"Renesmee?" Korin frowned, looking confused for a moment before glancing up at Jake. "Ohh, you're that Jacob." She said, smiling back down at the younger girl.

Jake smiled proudly before glancing down at his little imprintee. "You talk about me, Nessie?"

Renesmee smiled brightly up at him and nodded.

Korin chuckled softly. "Only all the time."

Jake's smile only grew wider and brighter, if possible.

"Jeez, girlie!" Korin exclaimed. "I only saw you two days ago and you've already grown like a foot and a half!"

Renesmee chuckled quietly. "It's a leech thing."

Korin had to admit, the first time that she heard Renesmee use the 'L' word, she had been somewhat shocked, appalled, but also deeply amused. And yet again, she was deeply amused and rather entertained by the shifter's reaction.

"Renesmee!" Jake exclaimed, staring down at her with wide, shocked dark orbs.

"Get a grip, warrior." Korin chirped, her tone teasing. "She only does it to see that very rewarding look of mortification you pull." She stated with a playful roll of her eyes. "You know the one I'm talking about, don't you?" She asked, smirking widely as she glanced down at Renesmee. "The one where his beady little eyes look like they're gonna pop right out of that pretty, little noggin of his?"

Renesmee placed a hand over her mouth, trying to contain her soft giggles, but failing miserably.

Jake briefly glanced over at his friend to shoot her a glare. His eyes then quickly snapped back to his imprintee when he finally registered the insult that had been thrown at him, even if it was a playful joke. "You think my eyes are beady?" He asked rather pathetically.

Korin chuckled, her amusement only increasing. 'Oh, shit -- this imprinting business looks like a lot of hard work. Poor Jake... Ha! Stubborn little bitch deserves a taste of his own medicine for once! Woo! These are times I truly do believe in the Spirits. He-he!'

She smiled to herself, suddenly realising how very normal she felt. For the first time she had risen, she felt like her old self again.

Renesmee frowned slightly, though she was still smiling. She slowly reached out, holding out her hand to him.

As always, Jake didn't hesitate to lower himself so that he was knelt right in front of his little imprintee.

Renesmee's smile widened slightly before she slowly placed her fingertips lightly over his right cheek -

\- "Come on, there's gotta be one thing you  
find annoying about him!?" -

\- Jake could see an imagine of his little  
angel shaking her head, scowling in  
defiance. -

\- "One little thing?"

"Okay... There is one thing..." -

\- Jake could hear his little angel sighing, see her glancing nervously down at her fiddling hands. -

\- "When he gets angry... His eyes are the deepest black I've ever seen... And when I look into them... I can't see my Jacob... And I get scared..."

"Aww, c'mon, Ness. He's eyes have always been beady like that!"

To which, Renesmee giggles. -

\- Jake's eyes fluttered open when Renesmee pulled her hand from his cheek. He glanced over at Korin, smiling gratefully at her -- even if she stared back at him in confusion. His eyes softened, looking almost hurt as he glanced down at his little angel. His frightened little angel. His little angel was frightened of him.

"It's okay, Jacob." Renesmee said, surprising both Korin and Jake, himself. "I know, it's just a wolfy thing."


	9. Not a Killer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You're not a killer, Rin."

The next morning, Korin woke up and followed through with her usual morning routine. After pulling on an Escape The Fate hoodie and her brown converse, she slumped lazily down the stairs.

Ever since she had become a zombie -- or "partially deceased syndrome sufferer," as Carlisle had put it -- Korin had found that her basic motor skills were a little slower than the average human's. Yet she was still able to creep up on just about anybody before ripping their throats out effortlessly...

Korin quickly snapped out of her wandering thoughts as she trudged slowly down the hallway and entered the kitchen to find both women of the house already there.

Leah was the first to notice her, probably because of her sharp wolf senses. She turned in her seat to face the older girl, placing her mug of steaming coffee down on the breakfast table. "Morning, sunshine." She chimed, shooting her best friend a cheerful grin.

Sue quickly turned away from the sink full of washing up and smiled brightly at her. "Morning, honey. Can I get you anything?" She asked. Always so caring and selfless.

Korin smiled grateful, but shook her head. "No, I'm good. Thanks." She mumbled. She felt bad, but it wasn't as though she could do anything about it.

Although, she could just pretend again. For their sake, if not her own. After all, she wanted to be as normal as possible.

"Actually," She said. "I could do with a nice cup of your lovely tea, Sue." She added a bright smile.

Sue smiled back, shooting the girl a knowing look. "Of course. Coming right up." She chimed, throwing the tea towel in her hands over her right shoulder. "Have a seat, hon'." She told her, turning back around and reaching up into one of the cupboards.

Leah smiled gratefully over at her best friend as she watched her take the seat beside her. "So, you sleep okay?" She asked, arching one of those rather intrigued-looking perfect brow of hers.

Korin tried not to think about the nightmares that were her horrid. memories as she answered the seemingly very simple question. "Yeah. Slept like a log, for the first time in a long time." She chirped, forcing a smile.

Leah eyed her suspiciously for a moment.

She knew that there was something that Korin wasn't telling her. She would have been upset, but this wasn't about her. This was about Korin, who had been through Hell, by the looks of things. Leah knew she could only imagine what she had been through.

"Well, I got the day off work today. I was thinking that maybe we could go to Forks for a movie or just some shopping. Just the two of us, like we used to." She added that last part with a mischievous little grin. "How 'bout it?"

Korin shifted awkwardly in her seat. "Um... I don't think that's a good idea." She muttered, averting her eyes to the table in front of her.

Leah frowned. "Why not? You love shopping!" She exclaimed, looking completely mortified.

Korin had to chuckle at that. She glanced back up at her sometimes rather ditzy best friend and nodded in agreement. "I do... But I just don't think I'm ready to be around... Normal people..."

Leah rolled her friends. "Oh, come on. You're not gonna just snap and kill someone."

"Leah Clearwater!" Sue exclaimed, swirling around to face her daughter with a look of utter outrage.

"What?" Leah asked defensively and yet shrugging casually. "You're not just some leech, okay?" She said, her voice soft as she glanced back to her best friend. "You're not a killer, Rin."

Korin stared into Leah's dark orbs, they looked so sincere, so reassuring, so determined, as always. "You don't know, okay!?" She snapped. "You don't know what happened... What I've done... If you did..." She laughed bitterly and shook her head. "I'm trying, okay? But I just... I just need more time."

"Okay." Leah breathed, nodding with an understanding look on her face. "It's okay. I'm sorry. I didn't know --"

"It's fine." Korin muttered. "I'm sorry for snapping." She added with a small apologetic smile.

Leah simply waved her hand in dismissal. "Mom, tea?" She chimed, grinning innocently over at her mother.

Sue glared at her daughter for a moment before huffing loudly in defeat and turning back to the boiled kettle.

Leah groaned when her cell phone vibrated loudly on the table. She quickly swiped at the phone up and answered hastily. "What!?" She snapped. "Uh-huh... Fine, whatever. Not like I had anything better to do." She replied sarcastically before hanging up and throwing her cell phone back onto the table. "Great. Guess who's got patrol with Dumbo tonight?"

Sue chuckled as she shuffled over to the table, placing both their tea cups down before retrieving her own and sitting down opposite the both of them.

"Who's Dumbo?" Korin asked curiously.

Sue chuckled once more. "Embry."

Korin nodded in acknowledgement.

She'd always gotten along with Embry and especially Quil. They always were both such dorks, but real sweet boys.

Sue grinned wickedly over at her daughter. "Lately, he's been harbouring some fuzzy feelings towards our lovely Leah, here."

Leah glared over at her mother.

Korin chuckled. "Really?" She mumbled, glancing over at her best friend and wiggling her eyebrows at her.

Leah glared over at her so-called best friend. "Who's side are you on?"

Korin feigned a confused look. "There are sides now? So, it's true?"

"I hate you." Leah claimed. "Both." She added, glaring between the both of them now.

"Oh, come on, Leah. I think it's sweet." Sue said, smiling brightly at her daughter.

Leah's face wrinkled in disgust. "It really isn't, okay!? I have to run patrol with him, listening to him... Thinking about me..." She said, shuddering slightly.

Korin chuckled again, she couldn't help it.

It was adorable really, but also really, really funny. The wolf thing probably made it even funnier, though.

"Did he, like, imprint on you or something? I mean, that might explain everything."

Leah shook her. "No. I would know. Even without the annoying telepathy. Believe me, I do not like Embry Call. I mean, he's a nice kid and everything, but I see him the same way I see Seth or Jacob or any of the other pack members. Both packs." She explained. "Okay, Sam, maybe not so much. But still." She added that last part with a roll of her eyes.

Korin knew when Leah was telling the truth, but she was still kind of gutted for her friend. She'd hoped the maybe Leah could just imprint and find her happiness finally. She deserved it after what happened between her and Sam.

Having to share your ex's thoughts when he was constantly thinking about your cousin was probably a really hard thing to deal with and Korin admired Leah for that. She always knew she was a warrior, with a warrior heart.

Leah let out a huff before downing her steaming cup of tea without even flinching and then rising from her seat at the breakfast table. "I gotta go. Jacob wants me to check in, for some reason. Says it's urgent, but nothing to worry about... Whatever the hell that means." She explained with a displeased frown. "Later, ladies." She chimed before sauntering off out of the kitchen.

Korin watched down the hallway as Leah finally closed the front door behind her. "If it's okay, I'm gonna head out for a walk. Something to do, y'know." She said, wearing a sheepish look.

Sue simply smiled and nodded. "Of course, hon'. You don't need to ask permission. You're not a kid anymore."

"I'm not anything anymore." Korin grumbled before she could even stop herself. Her entire body went ridged for a moment until she forced her eyes back up to meet the older woman's. "Sorry." She said, the word coming out in a hurry.

Sue's smile softened. "It's okay. I understand. Well... Maybe not understand," She said, shooting her a secretive, but knowing look. "But I'm here for you. Just know that."

Korin had to smile at that, a genuine smile.

It was hard not to smile for Sue, something Seth had inherited from his darling mother.

"I do." She replied with a nod.

Sue's smile widened once more as she nodded back. "Good." She said, rising from her seat at the breakfast table.

"I just..."

Sue paused, glancing curiously back down at the undead girl. She stayed silent, urging her to go on with whatever it was she wanted to say.

Korin looked as if she was struggling with her words before she finally let out a frustrated little huff. "What if someone recognises me?" She asked, her eyes filled with terror. "What did you tell everyone? About what happened to me, I mean."

Sue slowly sat back down in her seat, placing the empty tea cups back down on the breakfast table in front of her. "Well, when Seth found you --"

"What?" Korin gasped, her eyes wide.

Sue frowned softly and nodded. "In the bathtub..." She uttered.

She wasn't sure how much Korin remembered and she felt that it wasn't her place to say anything about Seth finding her for the second time; when she was a lot less naturally dead and a lot more human flesh-craving undead.

Korin averted her shameful gaze down to her lap. "No wonder he hates me." She rasped through her aching throat.

Sue sighed. "He doesn't hate you and you know that. Hell, even Seth knows that. He's just hurting from all the loss, I'm sure you can understand that."

Korin nodded. "Of course." She whispered, her eyes snapping back up to shoot the older woman a sincere look of said understanding.

Sue smiled softly and nodded. "You know what Seth is like -- he likes to smile big, but it's just a mask he puts on."

Korin scoffed. "Yeah, well, putting on an emotional mask is better than letting your stupid emotions get the better of you and make you off yourself." She stated bitterly, though, the words were clearly directed at herself.

Sue shot her a disapproving look. "You're father was abusing you, Korin." She reminded (as though she had to) trying to make a point.

"So, you're saying that it was okay for me to just give up?" Korin asked incredulously.

Sue shot her a pleading look. "Korin, it wasn't your fault."

Korin chuckled bitterly to herself as she quickly rose from her seat. "Y'know, I'm getting really sick and tired of people telling me that it wasn't my fault!" She snapped.

"Korin," Sue tried, her voice soft.

This only frustrated the undead girl all the more. "Why are you doing all of this? You and Leah? Why are you both being nice to me?" She asked, staring down at the older woman as if she was completely insane.

"Korin, honey," Sue tried again, her voice still as soft. Though, now she held an expression of deep concern.

"I killed myself!" Korin yelled at the very top of her lungs.

She was sure that if any supernatural beings were in a close proximity in that moment, they definitely would have heard her.

"I died for nothing!" She yelled once more.

Sue now held a look of utter despair as she watched silently with wide eyes.

"This," Korin said, her voice a lot lower, almost as deflated as her glum expression. She motioned to the cracked and dry ridges and lines scattered across her pale face. "Is all just... Nothing."

Sue took a moment to collect herself and while ignoring the deep lump that had swelled at the bottom of her throat after that little (and rather upsetting) outburst, she managed to form some coherent words. "The past is what doesn't matter. The past is nothing. What matters is what you're doing now, not whatever horrible things you've done. Korin, listen to me... You have people who still care about you and who always will care about you... Seth went to visit your grave every single day, without fail. Even after he phased, he always made time to go and see you, talk to you. Even when Harry went, Seth always came to your grave first... I don't know if Seth will imprint or not or maybe he'll even imprint on you, but I feel like that doesn't matter. Because it's always been you, Rin-Tin."


	10. Unforgivable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Do you think there are some things that are unforgivable?"

"Are you sure you're gonna be okay?" Sue asked, for what was probably the fiftieth time.

Korin smiled up from her half-empty cup of tea.

She hadn't told anyone (except for Leah, of course) that her undead body could no longer digest anything (other than the human flesh of the living).

"Yes. I'll be okay. The zombie girl can stay in her locked house alone for one afternoon." She droaned in a bored tone, like she used to whenever Sue used to lecture either her or Leah.

Sue smiled at her tone.

She was so happy that Korin seemed to be her usual self, even after everything she had been through. It was amazing to her really.

"Are you sure?" She repeated.

She couldn't help it, she felt a little protective over the undead girl.

"'Cause I can get Charlie to bring me back a little earlier, if you'd like."

Korin chuckled lightly and shook her head. "No, no. I'll be okay, I promise. I might go for a walk down the beach or something." She explained. "Besides, you haven't seen the Chief for a week. You two deserve some time, too." She added with a reassuring smile. "I can't believe you married the vampire girl's dad." She added with another chuckle and a shake of her head.

All she knew of the two and a half years she missed out on was what Leah had told her. Which was pretty much everything.

Sue chuckled, too. "Hey, I'm open- minded." She stated with a casual shrug. "Kinda have to be after giving birth to two wolf pups."

Korin smiled at the little nickname. "And I bet Chief Swan's real good in the sack." She mumbled under her useless breath.

Sue's eyes widened and she looked rather mortified. "Korin! Dear Spirits!" She spluttered, her light russet cheeks now tinted with a blush.

Korin sniggered quietly. "Sorry." She muttered. Although, it was obvious that she wasn't very sorry at all.

Sue let out a huff and for a minute or two, the kitchen fell into a comfortable silence. "Okay, yes, he is. So sue me... No pun on my name intended." She grumbled as she pulled her jacket on.

Korin smirked up at the older woman, a knowing look in her fake brown orbs. "See. Now, was that so hard to say aloud?" She quipped, clearly teasing.

Sue rolled her eyes, trying to look irritated, but only ended up smirking back. "I guess sometimes I forget that my babies aren't really babies anymore." She said, her voice holding a tinge of sadness, though, she was smiling softly now.

Korin nodded, giving her an understanding look in return. "I get that." She mumbled with a frown.

Her thoughts then suddenly drifted back to the not-so-little-boy Seth. The angry and upset Seth.

Sue noticed the sudden change of the undead girl's mood and somehow, she knew exactly what she was thinking. "Rin,"

The sound of Charlie's horn suddenly sounding from out the front of the house interrupted her, but only for a moment. Korin was her current top priority. At least, until she was sure the girl could stand on her own two feet again. Besides, she didn't have her own family. If you could even call them a family, she thought with disgust.

"Give him time." Was all she needed to say.

Korin nodded. "Right. Time heals all wounds." She muttered, though, she didn't look convinced.

Sue didn't want to say too much more. She knew that Seth would have to come out of hiding and face Korin eventually. And Sue didn't want to risk compromise anything.

"Give yourself time, too. Because time is all you have now. Besides, Leah and me, that is." She added and with one kiss to the girl's forehead, she shuffled out of the kitchen and out of the house.

Korin simply sat in her seat at the breakfast table in deep thought for a few moments.

Somewhere, deep down in her still-beating heart, she knew that the older woman's words were always wise and Korin had always trusted her. She had looked to her as a mother figure.

+

Korin hadn't planned on a visit to anywhere, except for the beach. Yet, here she was, standing just outside of the nearest church; Saint Haven. The old, but still beautiful and well-kept building was located just outside the boarder of the La Push reservation and though it was never crowded, there was always a few people lingering around for their God's help.

Korin wasn't a Catholic and this was a  
Catholic church, but for some reason, she was curious. She, of course, believed in the Spirits, though, she was still angry with them for allowing her to be brought back, especially like this. It was like she was somewhere in between. She wasn't dead, not fully. But she certainly wasn't alive anymore, either.

It was very confusing to comprehend sometimes, but Korin simply forced herself to forget about thinking about it all when she couldn't handle it anymore instead.

She stood anxiously, just outside the large oak front doors.

She didn't know if she was even allowed in such a Holy place anymore.

'What if I burst into flames or something?' She frowned slightly at that thought and shook her head. 'Don't be ridiculous...'

"Okay... It's okay, Rin. It's just a church... Contacts, check... Make-up, check... Brushed hair... Just do it already..." She muttered to herself, attempting to calm her ever increasing nerves.

She was sure that her hands were shaking and if she could still sweat, she was sure she'd be soaked all over right about now.

"Just... Just do it... Do it..." She whispered, her arm slowly stretching out for the door. Her shaking hand reached for the large iron ring handle of the door before slowly pulling it open.

Korin took a deep breath, just to calm her nerves or attempt to, anyway. She slowly shuffled in through the large entrance and quietly closed the door behind her. Slowly, she turned around and scanned the beautiful hall.

The hall was filled with rows of pews, but thankfully, there were only three or four people scattered around, sitting on their own and praying in silence.

She was happy to see that she hadn't potentially interrupted a service and then muster up the courage to walk down the large isle.

Her eyes roamed all over the beautiful hall; from the pretty and colourful stain-glass windows, to the large golden cross located at the very front and center of the room.

Korin didn't feel brave enough to get too close to any of the humans. She took a seat on third pew from the very back of hall and sat down quietly.

She didn't know why she was here other than maybe to find some solace or simply some solitude. And she quickly noticed how very peaceful it was just to sit here. Maybe she wasn't at peace herself, but it was nice to listen and watch other peoples'.

She smiled to herself, maybe she could come here again.

+

Korin didn't know how long she been  
sitting there. All she knew was that people had come and gone, while she still sat there, simply staring up at the golden cross. She hadn't really noticed she's been sitting there for over thirteen hours and she also knew now, that Sue was probably going to kill her undead ass.

Korin tutted, shoving her cell phone back into her hoodie pocket after checking the time and seeing the date. "Great." She muttered with an irritated little sigh.

She probably should have left right then and there, but at this point, it didn't matter. She was probably in trouble anyway, so why not make the most out of it?

And for some reason, she couldn't bring it out of herself to just get up and leave. It was so lovely and peaceful here, she wondered why she hadn't come sooner.

As the thoughts streamed through her  
mind, Korin barely noticed the tall and rather handsome middle-aged man slowly walking along the pew and sitting down beside her. Though, she was silently grateful that he had left an appreciative amount of space between them. Korin simply kept her gaze up on the golden cross, pretending not to notice him. She didn't feel threatened by him, but he did smell rather... Nice.

The man gently cleared his throat and leaned back in his seat before speaking. "I haven't seen you here before." He said, his voice rather soft-spoken and caring.

Korin rolled her eyes to herself.

She'd never had a problem with attracting male attention before, but she was slightly surprised by the attention while... Well, while she looked like she did. Sure, she was wearing her "disguise" as she saw it, but it was obvious of what she was, if you knew about the rising, anyway.

"You sniff out undead honeys in church?" She chided, not even bothering to give him a second glance.

The man simply chuckled, clearly amused. He then slowly reached up to pull his scarf from around his neck. "Father Bolan." He told her, finally introducing himself.

Korin's head snapped to face him, her eyes widening as she glanced down at the familiar collar. She felt utterly mortified and embarrassed now. "Oh..." She muttered, averting her eyes from his amused ones. 'How could I actually think a fucking priest was hitting on me!? Oh, my fucking Spirits, kill me now! Again!'

Father Bolan chuckled once more and shook his head gently. "It's alright." He told her. "That was probably my fault." He quipped, looking to make her feel better about that little misunderstanding. "That's a first for me, though." He added, trying to make light of the situation by poking fun at himself.

Korin reluctantly lifted her gaze back up to meet his and couldn't help sending him an appreciative smile in return. "So... You know what I am?" She asked with a rather sheepish look.

Father Bolan nodded and then smiled brightly at her, surprising her. "I do." He confirmed.

Korin nodded back. "So... Aren't you gonna, like... Hold a cross up to my face and throw me out or something?"

Father Bolan let out another chuckle and this time shook his head. "Why would I do that?" He asked, genuinely confused.

Korin stared back at him, looking just as confused. "Because... I'm..."

"You're what?" Father Bolan asked, raising a brow.

Korin frowned, seeing the knowing look in his big and lovely hazel brown eyes. "I'm a sin or whatever." She said with a shrug.

"Well, I guess I'm a little more high-minded than some other folks." Father Bolan replied, as if it were that simple.

If only...

Korin simply nodded, but didn't say anything else after that.

After a few more moments of comfortable silence, Father Bolan spoke up once again. "I don't mean to pry, but when people who never go to church, suddenly turn up one day... Well, it usually means that they're carrying around something they need help with."

Korin glanced back at him and saw the look of genuine concern. "I'm okay." She said, forcing a wide smile.

Somehow, Father Bolan could see right through it.

Maybe it was just his job and the practise he'd had over the years. However, he was never one to pry.

"If you say you." He said. He decided to leave it at that, letting her have time to think, which is what he thought she probably needed right now. He wrapped his scarf back around his neck and was about to leave her be when she suddenly spoke out again.

"Do you think there are some things that are unforgivable?" Korin asked, glancing up at him with a look of genuine curiosity.

Father Bolan sat back down beside. "God's forgiveness has no limits." He told her.

Korin snorted quietly. "That's generous of him." She aired, glancing back to the golden cross.

Father Bolan should probably have been angry or even offended by that little comment, but instead, he was trying to hide his amused expression. "God forgives things that you or even I cannot." He told her simply.

Korin contemplated his words for a few moments, pursing her lips slightly. She then turned back to the Father and smiled gratefully up at him before finally rising from the pew. Thankfully, her undead limbs weren't even stiff. She nodded in  
acknowledgement to his wise words. "Thanks anyway. I may come back for another visit."

Father Bolan nodded and smiled brightly back up at her. "Any time."


	11. At Peace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "That's not what I meant, really. I just meant that I felt at peace with myself... For a little while, anyway."

Oddly enough for Korin, when she walked all the way from Saint Haven's church, back to the La Push reservation and through the Clearwater's front door, she didn't seem to be in any trouble.

"Dear Spirits, girl -- where have you been!?" Sue exclaimed. Instantly, she lunged for the undead girl standing in the living room doorway and threw her arms around her. "I was worried, honey."

Leah slowly rose from her seat on the couch. "Yeah. What happened? Are you okay?" She asked, her concerned eyes raking over her best friend to check she was really okay.

Korin nodded as Sue finally let her go. "I'm fine." She assured. "I just lost track of time. I'm sorry. It won't happen again." She stated with a rather sheepish look.

"Oh, honey, it's fine. You're an adult, after all. Just let someone know next time." Sue said, smiling softly at her second (adopted) daughter. "I'll go put on some tea." She added with a small grin before shuffling off out of the room and leaving the girls to themselves.

Leah managed a smile, too, although, she  
still looked a little worried. "Yeah, it's all good, Rin." She assured her.

Korin smiled in return.

"Where were you, anyway?" Leah asked, now looking genuinely intrigued.

Korin smiled sheepishly, feeling rather embarrassed for some reason. "You promise not to laugh?" She pleaded.

Leah eyed her suspiciously for a second. "I promise." She agreed, holding up a hand for extra emphasis. "Wolf's honour." She joked with an amused little grin.

Korin huffed, realising she now actually had to tell her. "I was... I was at a church."

Leah arched a brow. "You were at a church." She repeated, trying to stick to her promise by not laughing.

Korin nodded and glared at her so-called best friend.

She knew Leah well enough to know when the she wolf wanted to burst out laughing. The both of them had done so many times in the most inappropriate situations, one setting the other one off and more than likely, always getting into trouble for it.

"...Yes." She confirmed in a slightly snooty tone.

"Well, what were you doing at a church?" Leah asked, tilting her head to the side slightly.

She knew it was a silly question to ask anyone, but she was even more intrigued now. She knew that Korin (like most Quileutes) was a believer of many things.

Korin sighed in defeat and shrugged. "I don't know." She mumbled.

Leah arched a brow again. She looked curious and slightly confused, but at least she hadn't laughed. Yet. There was still time, Korin knew.

"You don't know." She repeated her best friend's words once more.

"I just... It wasn't intentional. I went for a walk through the woods and I must have ventured out further than I realised." Korin explained. "And when I saw the church... I don't know. It just... It felt safe... I felt safe... There..."

Leah frowned and this time she actually looked a little hurt. "You're safe here, Rin. You're safe with me." She told her. "I won't ever let anything happen to you again. I promise you that."

Korin nodded and shot her a reassuring smile once she realised her slight error. "I know that, Lil." She assured. "That's not what I meant, really. I just meant that I felt at peace with myself... For a little while, anyway."

Leah finally shot her a look of understanding and then nodded. "Oh."

She didn't really know what else to say. She knew that Korin wasn't a killer, but she also knew that Korin would have to discover that for herself.

"Anyway, I thought you were patrolling?" Korin asked, quickly moving the conversation along for both their sakes.

Leah huffed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Jacob switched my shifts to tonight instead. Not that I had plans or anything." She added that last sentence with the utmost bitter kind of sarcasm. "At least I don't have to patrol with Embry. Although, Quil isn't that much better. Annoying little shit." She spat under her breath and with a roll of her eyes.

Korin chuckled lightly. "Come on, they can't be that bad." She said, trying to reason with her clearly unreasonable best friend.

Leah snorted. "It is when you're the only female. Who, on top of all the other crap - like seeing their junk on a regular basis - has to listen to the thoughts of teenage boys with raging supernatural canine hormones." She pointed out with a sour look.

Korin nodded. "Point taken."

+

Much to Korin's surprise and slight amusement, that afternoon, Sue had returned home with Charlie following closely behind her.

"Hey, wow, Korin..." Charlie stood in the living room doorway, staring at the undead girl.

He knew what had happened to her and he was one of the guests at her funeral. And with everything that had happened with his own daughter, he didn't want to question things. He was just happy to see the kid alive and well.

She still had the same deep brown chocolate eyes and long and wavy black locks. However, he did notice that she her caramel russet skin looked a little paler than before and the tiny scratches of scars marring her flesh concerned him deeply, but he knew.

"I guess this is another need to know type of thing?" He asked, though, it sounded more like a statement.

Korin glanced over at Sue for help and thankfully, she came to the rescue quickly.

"Yep. Sorry, Charlie-boy." The older woman chirped, smiling over at her fiance.

Charlie sighed dramatically, but smiled. "It's fine." He droaned.

"Hello, Charlie." Korin finally managed to find her tongue and even forced a bright smile over at the Chief.

Charlie smiled widely and opened his arms wide as he shuffled slowly over to her. "Reel it in, kiddo." He chimed, now standing in front of her.

Sue watched with a small smile dancing across her lips. And when the undead girl glanced to her, as if asking for permission, her smile only widened as she nodded in reassurance.

Korin glanced back to Charlie and then finally shuffled closer to him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

She'd always liked Charlie. There'd been many a time when she'd ring the Police Station for help from her pathetic excuse of a father. And Charlie had always made sure he'd been there for her personally. On a good day, he would break down the front door, march in and drag her back to the Station with him for a bit of peace and quiet and normality.

Charlie instantly noticed how very cold and stiff her entire body was, even more so than Bella's now. Though, he forced himself to ignore it. He knew this was the same little girl he'd looked out for so many times.

Charlie smiled softly as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. "I don't know what's going on here. And I don't care. I'm just glad to have you back. Getting a little sick of my family trying to run out on me." He joked, smirking down at her as they slowly parted from their affectionate embrace.

Sue had to chuckle at that. Although, she did feel a little guilty. She knew so much more than Charlie could ever imagine and she loved him so much more than he could ever imagine, too.

She still loved Harry, of course she did. He had been her first and truest love, but he was gone now and all she could do was hope that he would have been happy for her.

And it was difficult to keep things from Charlie, especially when she and Harry had shared literally every secret with each other, but she knew that it would keep him safer, so she was prepared to suffer for him.

"We gotchya a little present while we were out." Charlie piped up, grinning mischievously down at the undead girl.

Korin shot him a confused look, but it quickly morphed into one of curiosity. "You did? Why?" She asked, looking a little confused again.

She didn't know if it was just because of what she was or if her medication was causing it, but ever since she could remember after rising, her emotions had been completely out of synch and completely raging.

'It's like I'm a puppet who can only deal with one frickin' emotion at a frickin' time! Ugh! What's wrong with me!?' Her thoughts were also constantly a streaming blur, which obviously didn't help, in fact it made things worse.

'Maybe I should have just stayed in  
the ground...'


	12. 21 Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'KORIN SEALWOOD.  
> ********** * **********  
> 21 STARS,  
> A STAR FOR YOUR EVERY PRECIOUS YEAR.'

Sue disappeared into her kitchen for a few moments and then re-merged into her living room with a white cardboard box in her hands. "It's just something I thought you could use." She said, holding the box out to the undead girl.

Korin slowly reached out and took the box from her before opening it. Her eyes widened slightly as she reached inside the box and pulled out the white iPhone 4. "Um, wow... You shouldn't have." She was a little speechless, to say the least.

Charlie grinned. "Well, we thought come in handy." He said, shooting her a lighthearted knowing look.

Korin smirked. "You mean, you wanna keep tabs on me."

Sue's eyes widened in mortification. She reached behind her, slapping her fiance on the shoulder and glaring at him.

Korin chuckled at that. "It's okay. I understand. Really, Sue-bear." She added that last part with an affectionate little smile.

Sue huffed at her fiance, but finally glanced back to the undead girl and forced a smile. "I just feel better knowing I can reach you if I need to." She explained with a reassuring look.

Korin simply nodded. "I get it. I do." She reassured the older woman in return. "And thank you for this."

+

That evening, Sue and Charlie had planned a nice quiet dinner, just the two of them. Korin had to persuade them a little, but after finally reassuring them she would be okay killing time by herself, she finally left the house to them.

This time, Korin knew exactly where she was going. She didn't know if she was quite ready yet, but she felt that somehow, it may help her. If only a little, it was better than nothing at all.

The Sun was slowly beginning to set now, tinting the usual heavy clouds with a pretty pink glow that reminded Korin of the blossoms in spring. La Push had always been a very beautiful and special place to her. Despite the horrid house she'd grown up in, she'd always appreciated her reservation and it's wonderful, magical history.

And now that she knew just how magical it all really was, it somehow made the world shine a little brighter for the gloomy undead girl.

After no more than ten minutes of shuffling down the dusty roads of the reservation, Korin's destination was finally in sight. She forced herself to keep moving, not allowing herself to hesitate. Only when she reached the open front gates of the graveyard, did she finally have to stop.

"I can do this..." Korin whispered to herself. She took a couple of moments to re- compose herself before she finally began to pick up her pace.

Korin walked slowly through the rather "busy" cemetery.

There were many graves already placed over the years, but she was thankful that was all there was. People rarely ever visited during the day, let alone the evening.

Korin stopped in her tracks as one of the gravestones caught her eye. She slowly turned to face the pretty black marble slab, her eyes softening considerably when she read the name;

'HARRY CLEARWATER.  
LOVING FATHER,  
CARING HUSBAND,  
A WISE MAN.  
R.I.P.'

Korin's eyes slowly trailed down and she was incredibly pleased to see that the soil on his grave hadn't been disturbed. A huge wave of relief washed over her as she realised he really hadn't risen along with her.

After all, the Rising had only caused the recently deceased to rise. Although, the reason behind that was still unclear. And even though she had assured Leah that Harry was safe from such a thing, she had still had that tiny doubt/concern in the back of her mind.

Korin's eyes then drifted over to the tiny wooden figure placed on the top of the gravestone. She stepped a little closer, wanting to get a better look without touching. When her eyes managed to focus behind the contacts, her lips slowly spread into a smile.

It was a small wooden figure, carved in the shape of a wolf standing tall on all four legs and seemingly howling up into the air at the now approaching moon.

Korin guessed that it was either Leah or Seth. Both had always been quite handy, but Seth always had more of an artistic side to him. It was part of what she loved about that adorable little boy she used to know.

After a few moments of simply admiring the beautiful stone that Harry's family had chosen for him, Korin finally managed to tear herself away. She slowly began sifting through the gravestones once more, determined to find the one she really came to confront. It wasn't long before she had found it, either.

After all, she could remember crawling out of it. Well, she remembered parts of it.

Korin stopped in front of her gravestone. Her eyes drifted from the disrupted soil to the light apple green, polished granite slab.

'KORIN SEALWOOD.  
********** * **********  
21 STARS,  
A STAR FOR YOUR EVERY PRECIOUS YEAR.'

Korin slowly sank to her knee beside the smooth stone, ghosting her trembling fingers over it.

+

She couldn't think.

She couldn't feel.

She could only see, hear and crave.

She knew she was there, in the back of her mind somewhere. She felt lost, but the overwhelming need to feed swept any other humanly emotions away.

The others were there and she wasn't alone. She could hear them before she broke through the heavy soil. She felt tired, somewhat dazed, but she didn't let that stop her.

She needed to feed.

On what, she didn't know. She just knew that she needed to sink her teeth into something soft and warm sometime very soon or she was going to go insane. That is, if she wasn't already.

She felt the cold night's air on her face then, but she didn't feel the need to breath it in or enjoy it at all, she just knew it was there. She stood slowly, her knees wobbling slightly, but again, she stopped at nothing. Forcing herself up as far as she could, she hunched over slightly, groaning loudly as she then forced herself to turn around.

Her blurred vision then landed on a large slab of stone, she was conscious of that much, but none of it mattered. Her eyes then slowly drifted down to the golden imprints on the green stone. She recognised them, but she could register them enough to read them right. She stared vacantly for a few more seconds before turning to join the others...

+

Korin shook her head, quickly snapping herself back to reality. She stared at her gravestone in shock for a moment.

She'd never remembered that much before and so vividly. Maybe Carlisle was right; maybe the treatment was helping her. Although, not in the way she had hoped. She wanted to not want to kill people, but it was getting worse. She was remembering a little too much now.

"Hey, pops!"

Korin jumped in fright, her head snapping over to see a rather tall and well-built man knelt down in front of one of the gravestones a few yards away. Her eyes widened slightly and for some reason, she felt the need to panic.

What if she killed this guy?

She was starting to feel the hunger a little.

'Great. That means it's time for my meds again. Oh, how wonderfully insane I sound.'

"Sorry I haven't been to see you lately." The man continued, seemingly oblivious to her presence. "I've missed out on the action with the ladies so I've been a little busy. I'm sure you would understand. You old dog!" He chimed, laughing gleefully to himself as he ran a hand over the top of the gravestone.

Korin thought she should use his distraction to her advantage and slowly dragged herself back up to her feet. Bad move.

"Hey!"

Korin's eyes widened as the man suddenly stood up as well and then turned to face her. 'Shit. Oh, shit, shit, shit.'

"Hey! Wait!"

Korin ignored him, running as fast as she could. She sifted back through the gravestones and peaked over her shoulder to find the man following her. She gasped, sure that if it could, her heart would be beating out of her chest. She pressed herself harder, cursing mentally: 'Stupid zombie speed! Fuck! He's gaining on you, Rin!'

"Hey! Wait! I know you!"

Korin continued to ignore him, however, she began to panic when she lost track of where she was actually going. "Shit!" She hissed when she almost ran into the side of a large stone tomb. She turned around quickly, hoping to get away, but he had already caught up to her somehow.

"Hey! What gives!?" He asked, wearing a pout as he stopped a few feet in front of her.

"Stay back!" Korin yelled as soon as she realised; he was one, too. He was like her.

She hadn't been in direct contact with any of her other kind since being at the  
Cullen's house.

She had to admit though, he was rather easy on the eyes with his shaggy, mousy brown curls that reached just under his chin and hovered over his bright, twinkling brown contacts. And he was quite tall and lean, too. He looked to be in his early thirties, maybe late twenties, even. But he wore it very well.

He stared back at her curiously for a moment as he watched her reached hastily into her hoodie pockets before pulling out a small flip-blade. He then stared up at her in complete amusement.

"I said stay back!" Korin yelled when he tried to advance towards her.

He grinned widely and then decided to humour the weird undead girl. He held up both his arms, letting his hands go limp and hobbled towards her in a zombie-like motion. "Raaaaaaaa!" He roared, clearly mocking her.

Korin's eyes widened even more, if possible as she watched him walk right into the her extended hand, running his chest through with the blade himself.

He suddenly froze, his eyes locking with hers as he let out a rather over-dramatic groan of pain.

Korin quickly snapped out of her stupor and finally let go of the knife altogether.

He then slowly back away from her and stopped to glance down at the knife protruding from his abdomen, right under his still-beating heart.

Korin was frozen to her spot, her wide and fearful eyes rooted to him.

He suddenly glanced back up at her and burst out laughing.

Korin frowned slightly, not quite knowing what to do or say.

He shook his head at her as he tried to collect himself. "Oh, shit! You should've seen your face, princess."

Korin suddenly felt herself relax completely as she glared over at the stupid undead man. Oddly, something felt familiar about this guy. She just couldn't put her finger on it.

He chuckled lightly this time before carelessly removing the knife from his flesh.

Korin watched in fascination as the wound immediately healed over. 'Can I do that, too?'

"Yeah, we can all do that. Neat, huh?" He quipped with a smirk.

Korin stared incredulously at him.

It was as if he could read her mind. Well, with Edward Cullen, it wouldn't be a first.

"Here ya go, princess." He chirped, flipping the blade shut and holding it out for her.

Korin slowly crept forward and quickly snatched it out of his hand, shoving it back into her hoodie pocket.

Once more, he let out a small chuckle at her odd antics.

She seemed uneasy. Uneducated, almost. Which only made him feel slightly sympathetic for her. Still, she was very easy on the eyes.

And after all, he'd still been wary after his treatment had started working for him, but he'd still managed to do okay with the ladies, even the ones who were still breathing.

"I'm Solan Cooper. What's your name?" He chimed, holding out his incredibly pale olive-skinned and rather large hand.

Korin stared cautiously down at his outstretched hand for a few moments before finally extending her one of her own. "Korin Sealwood." She replied through a loud mumble.

Solan nodded, shaking her hand eagerly, but thankfully the appropriate amount of times before letting go. "Korin." He repeated, as if testing the word for taste on his tongue. "We hunted together. I don't know if you remember. I know the treatment can make ya a little fuzzy sometimes." He spoke so fast and enthusiastically that Korin had to take a couple of moments to process every word he had just said.

"Um, hunted?" She asked, arching a brow and shaking her head in dismay. "Killed." She corrected, shooting him a stern look.

Solan rolled his eyes. "Whatever, princess."

This time, it was Korin's turn to roll her eyes.

She didn't know if she liked this guy. He seemed harmless enough, he was just undoubtedly annoying and much too cheery for her liking. She didn't want to be happy. She didn't deserve to be happy. None of them did. They were killers. Monsters.

"And no, I don't remember... Much." She mumbled that last part, frowning deeply. "Is that bad?" She asked, glancing helplessly up at him.

Even if he was slightly irritating, she somehow got the sense that he was a little more clued in than she was.

Solan chuckled again, his dark eyes twinkling in amusement. "Nope." He replied, shaking his head. "Told you; it's the stupid meds. I remember more when I'm sleeping, though. How about you?"

Korin simply nodded, looking rather beat now.

Solan sighed. "Well, my doc says it takes time." He said, as if he were reciting the words. "And time is all we've got now, princess."

Korin's mind briefly flashed back to when Sue had said those exact words to her a couple of weeks ago. "Yeah..." She muttered quietly. "Well, it was nice to meet you. I best be off now, I think." She chirped, forcing a pleasant smile before brushing lightly passed him and walking off back through the graveyard.

Solan smiled to himself as he slowly turned around and watched her walk off. "Where you going?" He called after her. "To sit in your room and flip through old photos, feelin' sorry for yourself?" He chimed knowingly.

Korin froze in her tracks once more. She slowly turned back around to face him and shot him a slightly timid, yet confused look.

Solan simply smiled knowingly at her and he could see the silent questioning in her deep brown orbs. "Don't worry, I've been there, princess."

Korin found that little petname (or any petname, for that matter) highly irritating, but it wasn't a top priority at the moment. "How... How did you get passed it?"

Solan grinned mischievously back at her. "I took day trips."


	13. It's All Good

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "It's all good. All the time."

"Well, it was lovely meeting you, Korin."  
Solan chimed.

"Do you live on the reservation?" Korin asked, staring curiously at him.

Solan shook his head. "Nah. I live up in Forks." He told her. "My father grew up here in La Push when his father married a second time to a Quileute and when she died a few years before he did, he always told me that he wanted to be buried next to her." He explained.

Korin nodded. "What about your mom?" She asked rather timidly.

He seemed very open about himself and his family life, but she didn't want to potentially upset him.

She was glad that her own family weren't around anymore, but she could still understand the hurt of losing someone close to you. After all, the Clearwater's and Charlie Swan had always been a big part of her life and she loved them all much more than her own family. She should have felt at least a little guilty for that, but she really didn't.

Solan simply shrugged. "Never met her. She ran out on us when I was about two years old." He explained, his tone of voice disturbingly calm and even a little cheery.

Although, that seemed just the sort of person he was; cheerful and joyful and now the undead girl suddenly found herself a little envious. He seemed so in control, something she couldn't even begin to understand.

"I'm sorry." Korin mumbled, not really knowing what else to say.

Solan shrugged once more. "It's all good. All the time." He chimed with a hearty grin.

Korin had to smile at that. He reminded her a little of Leah.

"What about you?" Solan asked, looking genuinely interested. "You live in La Push?" He elaborated.

Korin nodded, still smiling slightly. "Yeah. Born and raised full Quileute." She stated proudly.

Solan nodded back and smiled approvingly. "And what about your family? I mean, you staying with them?" He asked.

Korin knew what he was getting at. "Yeah. They're okay with me being this way." She replied with another nod.

Solan nodded once more. "Well, good. I'm glad for you."

"You?" Korin asked, staring curiously up at him again.

Solan un-crossed his legs, pulling his knees up from the grass beside his father's grave and hugging them tightly to his chest.

For the first time, it seemed that he looked rather uncomfortable. Sad, even.

"It's just me, I'm afraid." He told her, the sadness tinting his voice slightly. "No siblings. No step-siblings. No other family, really. All I ever had was my papa." He explained. "And my lovely step-mama. She was the typical middle-aged Quileute lady - always trying to feed you until you pop." He added that last part with a light chuckle of amusement.

Korin smiled softly over at him. "Yeah, my foster mom is exactly the same."

Solan shot her a curious look. "Foster?"

Korin nodded. "It's complicated." She mumbled, frowning when she realised how embarrassed by her pathetic excuse for a father.

"We got buckets of time, princess." Solan reminded her with his usual charming grin. "But if you don't wanna tell me, it's fine." He added with a soft, reassuring look.

Korin smiled gratefully.

He was slightly irritating, no doubt gorgeous and he seemed genuinely nice, but he was still a stranger.

And besides that, Korin was barely able to speak about her past with the people she loved the most.

"Anyway, I better get going. It's getting late."

Solan nodded in agreement and slowly rose to his feet along with her. "Hey, how'd you feel about joining me on one of those day trips sometime? Two zombies, swapping horror stories. It'll be fun. What'd you say, princess?" He asked with an eager grin.

Thankfully, that sounded like a invitation to hang out as friends rather than a date.

Korin smiled and nodded. "Yeah. That actually does sound fun... Except for the trading horror stories part." She added with a frown.

Solan simply chuckled, clearly amused by her antics. "Well, alright, swell." He chimed in approval. "You got some digits, princess?" He asked as he reached a hand into his waist-length, black, leather jacket pocket for his cell-phone.

"Um, yeah..." Korin nodded, reaching a hand into her hoodie pocket and pulling out her pretty new white iPhone and unlocking it.

"Here," Solan said, taking her iPhone and giving her his old black Blackberry Bold.

Korin followed his lead, unlocking his Blackberry and typing her number onto the 'qwerty' keyboard before saving it.

"Don't be a stranger." Solan chimed, grinning as they swapped phones again.

Korin smiled up at him. "You, too."

Solan chuckled. "See ya around, princess." He said before slowly shuffling off.

+

Midnight was only a half hour away now and as Korin slowly shuffled back through the forests, she hoped that Sue and Charlie were asleep by the time she got back to the Clearwater house.

After checking the time on her iPhone, Korin shoved it back into her hoodie pocket and proceeded on, though, taking her time.

Korin enjoyed these little walks.

Maybe Solan was right; a day trip might do her a world of good. She had already visited a church and met that really nice Father, so maybe she had just been a little too worried about nothing at all.

It seemed that she had been given second chance of life, even if it was only a half life at that. But for whatever reason, she was back. And maybe it was time to just live instead of wondering why she was alive at all.

On that last thought, Korin was completely brought crashing back to reality at the sudden sound of a really loud and animalistic snarl. She stopped in her tracks instantly, her entire body freezing. She stayed like that for a few moments, waiting to see if she would hear or maybe even see anything at all.

When a few more moments passed, she quickly brushed it off as her imagination playing up on her. Again. It was certainly a plausible excuse.

Korin began to move forward under the tall trees shrouding darkness down, the dead leaves crunching under her Vans. Although, this time, she didn't get all that far at all. She froze once more when she heard another snarl, this one being louder.

Funnily enough, Korin felt curious rather than afraid. And that curiosity lead her slowly forward, closer to the loud snarling noises.

As she drew nearer, step by step,  
she could now hear a constant of heavy thudding sounds, almost thrashing in movement.

"Stupid fucking filthy mutt! I'll kill you for that!"

Korin eyes widened when she pushed through the dense brush to see a sandy- coloured wolf the size of a fricking Stallion horse standing with his hackles raised, his ears back and his large razor-sharp- looking canines bared. Her gaze darted over to what the wolf was squaring itself off to. She knew the incredibly pale man with the bright red orbs was vampire straight away, even if it was the first vampire she had seen in real life.

Thankfully, the tall vampire with the sickening grin and the platinum blonde spikes of hair didn't seem to notice the little audience he and the wolf had now required. He was far too pissed of with the stupid little mutt standing in front of him.

"Bring it, Fido!" He roared in utter outrage, his Cockney accent thick.

The large wolf let out a roar that beat the vampire's in volume by tenfold, a clear sound of a battle cry. The wolf then sprung, lunging straight towards the Cold One.

Korin's eyes widened in utter terror as she watched, rooted to her spot and frozen all over.

She didn't know what to do.

Help?

How would she help?

Go and get help?

No, it would be too late by then.

"Oh, shit..." She whispered to herself.

She knew that this wolf was one of the descendants of the tribe's Spirit Warrior, but it was still one thing believing and another believing. A whole lot of other, in fact.

The vampire smirked, leaping up into a nearby tree just in time. He shot down an evil cackle when the wolf smashed his snout into the bottom of the tree trunk, looking highly amused and very pleased with himself.

The wolf snarled and snapped his jaws as he then began to leap, again and again.

"Stupid dog." The vampire chided before leaping down onto the wolf's back.

Korin watched in utter horror as the vampire straddled the wolf's shoulders and then wrapped his arms around the wolf's neck.

She didn't know what had suddenly come over her, but she couldn't just stand by and watch this happen. She suddenly sprung into action, her feet hobbling her towards them as fast as she possibly could.

The wolf thrashed around, seemingly trying to throw the vampire off of him. Although, he was failing miserably.

Korin's eyes widened again, freezing in her tracks once again also when she suddenly heard a small cracking sound and then a loud whimper from the wolf. "No!" She screamed automatically at the top of her lungs.

The vampire briefly snapped his angry red orbs over to the intruder and snarled viciously at her. "Get outta here, rotta!" He roared as he tightened his arms around the wolf's neck.

The wolf whimpered again, though, he was still thrashing around, snapping his jaws as far back as he could reach.

Korin didn't know what was happening to her all of a sudden, but she suddenly felt a sort of overwhelming rage upon having to suffer hearing the wolf's painful cries.

Her mind flashed briefly back to when she had first risen; to the overwhelming hunger that burned deep in her throat.

Her eyes snapped open, a deadly glare now placed upon the vampire as she then lunged for him. She didn't even hesitate as she threw herself onto the vampire, grabbing his shoulders from behind.

"What the fuck!?" The vampire roared. He tried to shake her off of him, not wanting to remove his hands from the wolf's neck.

Or he would surely be done for if he did now.

"Get offa me, ya stupid nit!" He yelled. He barely felt her attempts to strangle him, though, he wanted to laugh, but didn't.

Korin growled, surprising herself at how deep and animalistic she sounded.

Though, she didn't let that stop her.

She knew there was no point in trying to match his strength, but there was one thing she was really good at now: biting.

'Yeah, I'll play you at your own game. See how you like a taste of your own medicine, you son of a bitch!'

The vampire howled out in unbearable agony as the pain spread through his shoulder, to his other limbs. It was almost instant, he suddenly let go of the wolf, throwing himself off of it's back.

Korin latched onto the vampire, keeping her arms locked around his shoulders. She pulled her mouth back from his shoulder before biting into his throat.

He may have been stronger than her, but she was grateful to know that she could tear her teeth through his flesh like butter.

The wolf struggled with wobbly legs as he tried to pull himself to his feet. After giving up finally, he slumped to the ground, but kept his eyes on the vampire with the familiar girl attached to his back.

He wanted to help her, but he was panting heavily, still trying to catch his breath and hopefully heal as quickly as possible. Although, the girl didn't seemed to need any help, really.

"Ah! Shit! You f-fucking bitch! Ahh!"

It was now the vampire's turn to thrash around, reaching with his hands to pull her from him. And it was now, his turn to fail miserably.

Korin knew she was getting carried away, she was still there consciously, but only partly.

It was like a primal instinct had suddenly washed over her, like she was rising all over again. The hunger was unbearable, but it was starting to curve slightly, now.

And that was when she suddenly realised: 'He tastes SO fucking good! ...What the fuck is that about?'


	14. Be Angry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I want you to be angry with me!"

Korin gripped her arms tighter around the vampire's shoulders, her finger digging into his hard marble-like skin. She groaned out loud in satisfaction at the taste of his salty, yet incredibly sweet, cold flesh. It tasted even better than a human's, however the hell that was possible. With one last bite to the throat, she pulled back, ripping a huge chuck of flesh, swallowing it whole and then let her "prey" go finally.

The wolf watched the vampire's face suddenly grow lifeless with the last bite and then as he sank down to the flow, his body completely ridged. He stared down at the un-animated corpse for a few moments before allowing his gaze slowly to drift up to the familiar girl.

Korin panted, trying to calm the overwhelming hunger she had just experienced. After a few moments, her eyes flickered up from the vampire's still body to the wolf now standing a few feet from her. For some reason, when her dark orbs landed on his, she sucked in a gasp of breath, shocked by the sharp thud that suddenly racked inside her ribcage.

Her heartbeat...

It was only a single beat, but she felt it. She knew she wasn't imagining things this time.

The wolf was now frozen to his spot, his large brown orbs locked on hers; on Her. He wanted to do something, he didn't know what, but he couldn't either way. He was completely frozen, staring back at her. He felt like he was suddenly floating above the clouds.

How could he have been so wrong?

How could he not even suspect?

Maybe that would explain why he had been hurting so fricking much. Why he couldn't bare to look at her before.

However, he suddenly realised that none of that mattered anymore. Not his family, not the pack, nor his stupid job. In fact, nothing else mattered anymore. Nothing, but Her.

"S-Seth?"

The wolf was suddenly brought out his streaming thoughts; now all thoughts of her.

Korin stared back at him, her eyes unable to leave his for some reason. Somehow, she knew it was him. She recognised those beautiful brown anywhere.

"Is that you?" She asked, her voice timid and her expression slightly nervous.

The wolf somehow forced himself to nod his large furry head in response, obviously unable to talk to her in his current status.

She had saved his life and she hadn't even known it was him until now and that made him beam slightly. Well, more than he already was.

'I actually imprinted... I can't believe it.' He thought with a humorous (mental) chuckle.

He had seen and felt what the his pack brothers had felt with their imprintees, but it was nothing compared to the real thing. Although, he was more overjoyed about the fact on who he had imprinted on, rather than actually having imprinted.

Maybe the Spirits didn't hate him so much after all.

And of course, he had to admit, he'd always had a huge ass crush on her, ever since he could remember. She had been his first, true love. Even if he'd never actually let her know that.

"A-are you okay?" Korin asked, her voice wavering slightly. She took a small step closer towards him, her eyes raking his entire form for any injuries.

Again, all Seth could do in his wolf form was nod his head at her in response. 'I'm more than okay. You have no idea, Rin.' He suddenly braved himself enough to edge slowly closer to her, his over-grown paws thudding softly as he went. He paused briefly, staring at her as if to test if what he was doing was okay and when she made no attempt to move, he slowly edged himself closer.

Korin stood, rooted to her spot as she watched with wide eyes as the wolf - Seth stepped right up to her.

Seth stood on all fours, his face hovering a few inches over hers as he stared down at her. He used this moment to take her in properly for the first time.

The last time he had seen her was at her worst, but somehow, he had a feeling that she didn't remember too much about that.

His large almond orbs grazed over the pale caramel russet skin, her flesh marred with tiny scar lines, making him frown softly in concern. All in all, she looked like she did before - her pretty dark chocolate brown orbs (which he knew were contacts, but he still couldn't help melting a little inside as he lost himself in them), her long, wavy, dark chocolate brown hair, her perfect mousy-brown arched brows, her long, thick, black lashes and her adorable button nose, like a beautiful little cherry on top of that beautiful little masterpiece.

She was truly the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.

Still.

Korin felt her hand automatically reach out before resting on the side of his huge, thick, fur-coated neck. She sighed sadly, running her fingers softly throat the fur on his neck. "Not that I don't have faith in the Spirit Warriors, but... What are you doing alone? He could have killed you." She said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Seth let out a high-pitched whine before bowing his head and dropping down onto his stomach. He didn't know where that sudden reaction had come from, but at the sound of her disapproving tone, his legs trembled slightly, his entire being overcome with a need of submission on his part.

'Whoa... This is... This imprinting gig is gonna take some getting used to... Shit...' He thought. His heart suddenly began to race slightly when he dared to lift his eyes back up to hers.

Korin stared softly down at him before slowly kneeling down beside his large, furry head. "It's okay. I'm not angry."

Seth smiled mentally at her words.

It seemed that she knew just what he was thinking. Though, that had always been, even before he had imprinted on her.

Korin let out a little sigh. "I just... I don't wanna lose you... Again." She mumbled, suddenly averting her eyes from his.

Seth let out another whine before forcing himself back up onto his feet.

Korin stared in utter confusion as she watched the wolf swirl around and trot off. She felt the undeniable twinge of hurt and disappointment when she watched him disappear through the brush she had slipped through in the first place. She stood there with a dumbfounded expression on her face for a few moments and then jumped at the loud sizzling sound. She stared at the spot Seth had disappeared through in curiosity for a few more moments.

"S-Seth?" She called out, her voice timid once again.

"Yeah. Hang on. I'll be out in a sec'." He called back to her.

The sound of his voice did something to the undead girl, something she couldn't explain and wasn't sure if she really care to anyway. Her still-beating heart suddenly mustered up the energy to give another prodding thump. This time, Korin gasped a little louder, almost feeling winded by the sensation, but in a very pleasant way. Her skin cold and pale skin seemed to flush with heat, though, it only last a couple of seconds, if that.

She frowned, deeply confused with what was suddenly happening.

What was happening to her?

It was as if Seth, himself was disorientating her already confused mind and body. Though, again, in the most wonderful way.

"Rin? You okay?" Seth asked, suddenly re-emerging from where he'd previously disappeared. Although, now he was in human form and wearing nothing except for a pair of sandy-colour cargo shorts.

Korin had to force herself to keep her eyes on his, rather than let them drift down to his rather stunning physique. She frowned slightly, feeling even more confused than she already was, if that was even possible. She'd never felt or even looked as Seth in such a way as she now suddenly was and it kind of freaked her out a little bit.

Maybe it was another supernatural thing? Because he was certainly a lot more beautiful than she remembered. Although, then again, so were Leah and Jacob. So, yes; maybe it was a supernatural wolf thing.

However, that suddenly made the undead girl a little insecure.

'I used to be beautiful, too... Well, I was okay. Not lookin' to toot my own horn here...' She thought.

"Rin?"

Korin suddenly snapped out of her stupor, realising she'd been staring at him. She was sure that if she could, she'd be blushing so bad right now. "Um... Huh?" She mumbled, staring curiously up at him.

Seth shot her an odd look, but it was quickly replaced with one of concern. "Are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine..." Korin mumbled.

Seth nodded, feeling himself relax a little after hearing her say the words out loud. "I, uh..." He really didn't know what to say.

He had been a complete asshole to her, completely shunned her, but she didn't seem to care. Then again, she was always so forgiving.

Kind of like himself.

Usually, anyway...

"Thank you." He uttered finally, shooting her a genuine grateful look for emphasis.

Korin shot him another confused look. "For what?" She asked, seeming completely oblivious.

Seth smiled at that.

She was always so modest and humble, too. Just another thing he loved about her.

"For saving my furry ass back there." He replied with a sheepish grin.

"Oh... Right..." Korin muttered, her eyes drifting over to the pile of ash that was once the vampire's lifeless corpse.

Seth's gaze followed hers. "Rin, he would have killed us both." He told her, his voice soft and his expression reassuring.

Korin smiled slightly as she slowly lifted her eyes back up to his. 'If he's using my nickname, he can't be too angry...' She thought, a little too hopefully for her own liking.

She then, suddenly realised just how much she was having to crane her neck to stare up at his face. She couldn't help letting a soft chuckle escape passed her pale pink lips.

Seth stared at her, looking completely confused for a moment. "What's funny?" He asked, his tone slightly childish and his eyes pleading.

Korin smiled up at him, her eyes still drawn into his. "You're so tall now." She said, her voice barely above a whisper again.

Seth's lips slowly pulled up into a small smile as he stared back down at her. He, too, was unable to tear his gaze away from hers, literally. It was like some incredible, invisible, magnetic force constantly pulling him closer to her, both body and mind. His skin seemed to hum pleasantly just by being so close to her, even if he was actually touching her.

"Yeah. Wolf genes will do that to ya." He joked, airing a small chuckle.

Korin's smile widened slightly, but quickly faltered. "Seth..." She mumbled, her gaze saddening slightly, too.

Seth frowned softly, using his silence to urge her on.

"I'm sorry." Korin whispered, unable to speak any louder. She was sure she could feel her throat clench, though, not with hunger this time.

Seth sighed softly. "No." He said, shaking his head sadly. " I'm sorry, Rin."

Korin shook her head furiously. "No, Seth. What I did was the action of a coward." She said, her voice quivering, along with her bottom lip.

Seth felt his chest clench tightly as he witnessed her shiny brown orbs. He lifted a hand and reached out for her, only to be stung when she shuffled quickly back away from him. "Rin, please, don't do this." He begged. "It wasn't your fa --"

"Stop!" Korin snapped.

She was really fucking sick and tired of people saying that to her.

"I've heard it a millions times and y'know what? It is my fault! Everything I have ever done is my own fault! Just like every other sad sack of flesh in this dreary world!" She yelled, her voice growing louder with every word that spat passed her lips until she was shouting at the tops of her lungs.

Seth stared at her, his eyes widened slightly in shock. He was clearly taken aback, but he was mainly just surprised.

She never used to be so... Angry.

"Rin -"

"No!" Korin snapped, defiant to listen to the excuse she knew he was going to make for her.

Seth growled, unable to help it. He was quickly growing frustrated now. Although, it was mainly because he could feel the wolf side of him stirring; knowing that it's mate was distressed and obviously, it wasn't very happy about that at all.

"Don't you fucking growl at me!" Korin snapped.

If it had been any other situation, Seth was certain that he would have burst out laughing at her retort.

"Werewolf or not, I will kick your furry ass!" Korin snapped, her voice as stern as her expression.

"I'm not a werewolf." Seth retorted, trying to hide his smirk.

"What?" Korin asked, looking somewhat dumbfounded again.

"I'm not a werewolf." Seth repeated, forcing himself to stay looking serious. Although, he could see she was getting annoyed with him and that just made her even more beautiful to stare (ogle) at. "Technically, I'm a shapeshifter." He corrected, now unable to stop himself from grinning at her unimpressed face.

Korin glared at him, though, seemed defiant to say much else.

Seth's grin faltered slightly as he let out a tired little sigh. "What'd you want from me, Rin?" He asked, sounding as though he was painstakingly pleading with her.

"I want you to be angry with me!" Korin yelped. "I want you to look at me like the disgusting monster that I am..."


	15. Hoot-Nanny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Who am I to turn down a hop hoot-nanny? Let's do it!"

When Korin had finally managed to calm back down, she and Seth walked back through the forest at a slow set pace.

"So, why were you out here on your own?" She suddenly piped up, having remembering that he'd never actually answered her the first time she'd asked.

Seth shrugged casually. "I was just out for a walk. It's unusually warm tonight for La Push, so I decided to take advantage of that fact." He explained simply. "Besides, I needed to clear my head about a few things..." He mumbled that last part, frowning down at his dirty bare feet as he continued walking beside her.

Korin frowned, too, knowing what he was really saying. Though, she kept silent.

She'd already had her little tantrum and now she was over herself. For a while, anyway.

"I wasn't out here looking for trouble - if that's what you're thinking." Seth added with a small mischievous grin (only contradicting his words).

Korin chuckled lightly at that. "You're always out looking for trouble."

Seth rolled his eyes playfully at her. "Whatever." He grumbled.

"And you're just asking for trouble if you walk around on all fours." Korin added with a small smirk, her eyes shining with amusement.

"Shut up." Seth countered, unable to hide his own smirk as he elbowed her lightly in her shoulder.

Korin's smirk only widened.

"Rin, I'm really sorry for how I acted towards you before. I was way a out of line and a complete dick... And I'm really, really, really sorry for my little disappearing act over these passed couple of weeks." Seth suddenly blurted out, unable to take his plaguing thoughts and emotions eating away at him.

He wanted to kick himself in the head for being such an idiot.

"It's okay, Seth." Korin told him, her voice soft. She turned her face to his and shot him a reassuring smile. "I understand your anger. You probably have a good reason to be pissed off with me." She added that last part with a sheepish little grin.

Although, she knew what she had said was probably true.

Seth sighed loudly, shaking his head furiously. "No, Rin, that's not..." He trailed off, seeming a little hesitant to say whatever he really wanted to say. He let out a frustrated little huff before finally forcing his mouth back open to speak.

He needed to tell her the truth. And she needed to know the truth.

"I was never angry with you... Okay, that's a lie." He frowned slightly to himself - this imprinting business made it very difficult to lie, even to keep from hurting her feelings. "I was pissed off at you for maybe ten minutes or so, but... Rin, when I found you laying in a bathtub of your own blood... I just... I fell apart..." He told her. His voice was barely above a whisper, his throat aching unbearably as he stared at her with the most devastated expression.

"Seth, you were just a kid... I'm sorry for what I put you through..." Korin said as she suddenly stopped walking along with him and slowly turned to face him properly.

She really didn't know else what to say to that. All she could do in that moment was plead for herself not to cry in front of him.

"It could have happened to anyone, Rin." Seth told her, trying to ease her guilt as much as he could. "I wasn't as brave as I should have been... I just... I couldn't keep it together... I pulled you out of the tub and I held just held you close to me as I sank to the floor..." He paused, averting his gaze back down to his muddy feet.

He simply couldn't bare to have her look at him with sympathy. He didn't want her sympathy. He wanted her love.

"I don't know how long we were there for... All I remember after that is my mom suddenly screaming and Leah bawling her eyes out, while my dad tried to prise you away from me..." He muttered, wearing a rather awkward, and sheepish expression now.

"Did you..." Korin was reluctant to ask, but she had to know. Although, she didn't know why, it just felt important to her.

Seth's eyes quickly lifted back up to hers. He shot her a questioning look, silently urging her to continue.

"Um... Where you at my... Um, m-my funeral?" Korin asked, unable to keep her voice from wavering nervously.

She wanted to tear her gaze from his, because he looked at her so strangely. It was a sort of intense stare, like he was constantly trying to read right into her soul. It was a little unnerving, but oddly rather warming.

Seth nodded.

This conversation felt so surreal to him. Which in his line of work, really was saying something for him.

"Of course." He confirmed with a nod.

Korin simply nodded in acknowledgement.

Seth quickly noticed her discomfort and frowned slightly. He didn't want to make her feel any worse, but he had to know; "Why?" He whispered, his eyes meeting hers in yet another heartbreaking gaze. "Why did you do it, Rin?"

Korin quickly tore her eyes from his and glared down at her battered Vans. "You  
wouldn't understand." She grumbled, slowly folding her arms over her chest, as if to protect herself.

Seth frowned in concern at the action, let it be. For now. "Try me." He challenged, quirking an expectant brow at her.

Korin let out a small huff, still not daring to look back up at him. "Seth, please, just -"

"No, Rin." Seth cut her off, shaking his head in defiance. "I need to know." He said, his voice as stern as his expression now. "Please." He uttered, giving her a pleading look.

Korin slowly raised her gaze back to his and instantly regretted the action. She could hardly help, but melt at sight of pretty dark orbs, always with the little twinkles dancing at the corners. For whatever reason, she suddenly felt the urge to completely open up to him, to completely confide herself in him. It was a strong urge to fight for her, but somehow, she managed it before she blurted everything out all at once.

Seth knew the gist of her past, but she made both Sue and Charlie promise never to tell anyone about what really happened to her. Including Seth and Leah.

"I can't tell you." She said, trying as hard as possible to sound firm and final.

Seth couldn't deny how stung he felt by her response. "You owe me an explanation, at least." He said, trying to sound demanding, but failing miserably.

Korin nodded in agreement. "I do." She told him. "But I can't give you one... I'm sorry, Seth, but I just... I can't..." She whispered, trying to hold onto her brimming tears.

Seth sighed quietly. "It's fine." He told her, knowing that he would give in eventually anyway. "Just... Don't leave me again, okay?" He asked, wearing another pleading look.

Korin frowned slightly, feeling even more guilty (if even possible) when she saw the look of fear, clear in his dark orbs.

She had done that.

"Seth -"

"Princess!?"

Korin jumped out of shock mainly when she heard that familiar voice in the nearby distance.

Seth's entire body froze for all of a split second before he found himself standing protectively in front of his imprintee in a flash.

Korin frowned disapprovingly and quickly shoved him to the side of her.

"Princess?" Solan suddenly appeared through the brush that Korin had previously sifted through. His eyes quickly landed on his fellow undead acquaintance and then, darted onto the rather tall and large-built, dark-russet-skinned and very shirtless man standing beside her, glaring daggers at him.

"You okay, Korin?" He asked, his eyes darting back to the undead girl, who was glaring at the muscle-head standing beside her.

Korin's eyes snapped over to Solan. "Yep. Just peachy." She chimed, forcing a smile.

Solan simply nodded. He was rather intrigued by the muscle-head's obvious jealousy. And even more intrigued by whatever relationship was going on between them. He was also slightly amused.

Seth said nothing. He was simply unable to stop himself for glaring over at whoever the heal this undead guy was. He knew what this guy was. He smelt slightly similar to Korin, slightly. And he also wanted to know who the hell this guy was and how the hell he knew his imprintee.

'And why the FUCK is he calling her "princess"!? Grrrr! Son of a bi -'

"What're you doing here?" Korin asked the undead man. "I thought you lived in Forks." She said, shooting him a curious look.

Solan grinned. "I do." He confirmed. "I just felt like visiting my father's reservation. See if anything's change." He explained. "I mean, we can sleep, but we don't really need to." He added with an amused chuckle. "Kinda ironic and a fucked up way."

Korin rolled her eyes at him, but couldn't help smirk in amusement.

His lighthearted personality was rather infectious. Kind of like Seth's. Seth was always so bright and bubbly. He grown slightly sullen over the last few years, though, that was probably Korin's fault, too.

"Anyway," Solan continued. "I was nearby and I heard shouting." He explained, noticing her shot the muscle-head another glare. "Was that you, princess?" He asked. He added the 'princess' part just to piss the muscle-head off, for his own amusement of course. 'Talk about issues!' His mind sang.

"Um, yeah... We were just... Talking." Korin said. She knew how lame she sounded, as well as how very unconvincing, too, but she hoped that he would catch her drift.

Thankfully, he did.

Solan simply nodded, eyeing the muscle-head curiously once again. "So, who's your friend?" He chimed, smirking suggestively back at the undead girl.

He could tell there was something going on between the two.

'Lucky girl. He's certainly a looker, I'll give her that.'

"Yeah, Rin," Seth finally piped up. Though, he kept his glare peeled on the undead guy. "Who's your friend?" He asked, imitating the undead man's tone.

Korin shot her new friend a pointed glare.

Solan simply smirked, staring between the two with utter amusement.

Korin let out a huff, but decided to quickly get the stupid introduction over with. "Seth, this is Solan. Solan, this is Seth." She droaned.

"Solan. Uh-huh." Seth muttered. "And where'd you two meet?" He asked her. Though, he was still glaring at Solan.

Korin rolled her eyes at the silly wolf.

He always been a little protective of her. And it was really adorable back then. But now it was really annoying.

She suddenly felt a little awkward with herself again. It felt different this time. It felt slightly more possessive and that scared her slightly. It wasn't Seth that scared her, though. It was more of the fact that she could feel her feelings for him slowly changing.

'Did he really make my heart beat?'

"We met in a graveyard." Solan stated, bringing Korin out of her thoughts. "Funny, and kinda ironic, right?" He chimed, shooting the muscle-head a cheesy grin.

Seth, however, didn't look all that impressed, his glare glued to the undead man, still. "Yeah. It's fricking hilarious." He muttered. He had to grit his teeth and ball his hands into tight fists to keep from just phasing and tearing this fucker's head off.

He didn't know what the hell was happening to him. He'd always been in control. Even more than most of his other pack brothers.

With the exception of Jacob, of course. Though, he proved to be a natural wolf and leader.

Korin finally had enough of Seth's stupid behaviour. She didn't know if it was a wolf thing or a stupid teenage thing and she didn't care right now.

Solan was her only other friend. Someone she could truly connect with, because of their similar situations and all.

And Seth was just being downright rude, and just, just ridiculous.

She shifted forward and stepped in front of the wolf, cutting his view from the undead man. "Hey, you wanna come back for a few beers?" She asked.

"What!?" Seth snapped. "What're you doing?" He asked, standing beside her and shooting her an incredulous look.

Korin glared up at him. "I'm inviting my friend over for a few beers. Not that I need your permission, but is that okay with you?" She said, her tone rather snooty.

Solan watched silently in amusement.

No matter how hard he tried, Seth couldn't bring himself to glare back down at her. Instead, he sighed loudly in both frustration and defeat. "Fine. Whatever." He mumbled. He then folded his arms over his chest and proceeded to sulk.

It was now Korin's turn to stare at the shapeshifter with an incredulous look on her pale russet features. She shook her head to herself when she noticed him now avoiding all eye contact with her. Finally, she turned back to her new friend and shoot him a questioning look.

Solan grinned enthusiastically. "Who am I to turn down a hop hoot-nanny? Let's do it!"


	16. Flames from Hell Hots

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Well, I dunno what to tell you, princess; but that "kid" has got the total steaming hots for you. And I'm talking like, flames from Hell hots... Seriously, though."

"Wow! You got a nice place here, princess." Solan exclaimed with a low whistle.

Korin turned to shoot the undead man an appreciative. "Um, thanks. But it's not exactly my place." She said. "The house belongs to Seth, his mom and his sister." She explained as she lead the way down the hallway and into the kitchen.

"You live at home?" Solan asked, glancing at the muscle-head.

Seth tried not to glare at him so much, seeing as how Korin seemed to be friends with him. Although, that didn't mean that he had to like the guy.

"Yeah. What about it?" He all, but snipped.

Korin scolded him silently as she opened the fridge.

Solan shrugged casually. "Nothing. Just wondered." He replied, seeming totally un-fazed by the shapeshifter's attitude. "You got three ladies looking after you. You're a lucky, lucky guy." He added with a cheesy grin.

Seth didn't want to, but he had to smile a little at that. "Yeah." He mumbled before shuffling towards the doorway. "Rin, I'm gonna check on my mom and take a shower." He told her.

Korin nodded in acknowledgement. "Are you coming back down for a drink?" She asked with hope glinting her dark orbs.

Seth was a little hesitant to agree to that. He felt like he was maybe intruding some quality time between the two undeads.

Although he had hoped she could maybe trust him enough to share her horrid secrets with him, he knew that it was probably a good idea to have someone like herself around her; someone she could connect with. It saddened him considerably, but he knew all too well that in this life, it was good to have other people around who understood your own situation.

However, when he glanced back to Korin, he really couldn't deny her request. "Yeah, sure." He muttered, forcing her a small smile before turning around and shuffling off back down the hallway.

Korin stared after him for a few moments before turning back to the fridge. She pulled out two beer bottles and grabbed the bottle-opener from the utensil rack on  
the counter. "Make yourself at home." She said as she shuffled over to the round, pine wood breakfast table.

Solan nodded and sat down in a chair opposite her.

Korin cracked open both the beers, tossing the caps to the table along with the bottle-opener. She then slid one of the fresh open bottles along the table, passing it over to her fellow undead friend.

"Thanks, princess." Solan chimed. He shot her a grateful smile and swiped up the bottle. "Shall we make a toast?" He asked, quirking a brow at her and raising his bottle slightly into the air.

Korin shot him a humorous look. "To what?" She asked, picking her own bottle up.

Solan thought for a couple of moments before his lips slowly spread into a wide, amused grin. "To the Rising?" He chirped. "To a second life and to greener pastures!" He finally chimed, raising his bottle towards hers.

Korin grinned back in amusement and nodded anyway. "Sure. Why the hell not, huh?" She said, finally raising her own bottle and clinking it with his.

"And to throwing the toast back up in the nearest toilet tomorrow morning!" Solan added with a chuckle.

Korin shot him a rather sour look as she sipped at the beer.

She couldn't get drunk at all anymore, but at least she could still taste the damn stuff. Maybe a placebo would work out for her? Although, knowing her luck, probably not.

"Well, let's not get carried away now." She countered, unable to help smirking anyway.

Solan let out another chuckle and then took a few big gulps of his beer. He then slowly placed the bottle back on the table and cleared his throat as he stared directly at her. "Sooo?" He sang, fidgeting rather excitedly in his seat.

Korin placed her own bottle back down onto the table after a few more sips. She stared back at him, shooting him a confused look. "So, what, so??" She chimed, arching an expectant brow.

Solan scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, princess, don't give me that!" He whined, shooting her a pleading look. He stared at her for a few more moments and then let out an annoyed huff when she merely continued to stare at him in confusion. "You and the muscle-man up there." He stated, pointing a finger to the ceiling, obviously referring to guy upstairs in the bathroom right now.

"Seth." Korin corrected him before she could really stop herself.

Solan smirked at her. "Yeah... Seth." He  
cooed, shooting her a sly look.

Korin rolled her eyes. She knew what he was getting at. 'Ugh. Men.'

"I've seen the way he looks at you." Solan said, still smirking widely in amusement. "And I've just met the guy." He added pointedly.

Korin rolled her eyes again. "We're just good friends."

"Ah, the ol' 'friends with benefits' routine." Solan chimed, nodding as he took another sip of his beer.

Korin's eyes widened in mortification. "What!? No!" She spluttered. "He's a kid, for fuck sake!" She snapped, now glaring at him.

"Oh, come on!" Solan whined. "He's, what, like, 21 or something -"

"He's 19, actually." Korin cut in with a rather snooty tone.

She didn't know why, but she was suddenly feeling rather defensive about Seth. She'd always been as protected over him, especially when he was little, but this time, it felt slightly different. As if more possessive even.

Solan rolled his eyes, clearly unimpressed. "Yeah. And? What're you, living in the nineteenth century?" He chided.

Korin shot him another sour look, wrinkling her nose at him as she sipped her own beer.

"Trust me; he ain't no kid. At least, not anymore." Solan said, wearing another smirk.

Korin shifted uncomfortably in her seat, now glaring at him. "Seth and I aren't like that. He's like my little brother. He practically is."

Solan nodded. "Right. The forster thing." He stated with a sigh. "Well, I dunno what to tell you, princess; but that "kid" has got the total steaming hots for you. And I'm talking like, flames from Hell hots... Seriously, though."

"You don't know what you're talking about." Korin stated dismissively.


	17. Not Gonna Leave You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I'm right here, Rin. I'm right here. I'm not gonna leave you."

That night, Seth hadn't come back down, like he'd said he would, but Korin didn't have the heart to be upset or angry with him.

After what she had put him and the other Clearwater's through, she knew that she would need to give them time. Which was fine by her, because she needed time, too.

Besides that, she somehow sensed that Seth had felt a little put out by their undead guest. Especially since she and Seth still hadn't finished their earlier conversation back in the forest. But that was okay, too. There was still plenty of time, one thing Korin had plenty of especially.

Apart from the odd feeling of missing Seth - even though he was merely a few meters away (locked in his bedroom) - Korin found that she and this Solan character had a lot in common.

Besides the obvious things, of course...

Korin felt incredibly guilty for easily opening up to Solan, when she could barely seemed to look Seth in the eyes about the mere mention of such things, but she had still shared her childhood and his home life with her and without even thinking.

Solan was still a stranger and she barely knew him, but for whatever reason, it was just easier to share her dirty little secrets with him. Maybe it simply was the fact that he knew what Korin was going through now and that he seemed to know what she had gone through in the past as well.

He'd told her that he, too, had a rather rough up-bringing. The only difference between the two undeads was that his father never laid an ill finger on his son or on anyone else ever, for that matter. From what Korin had been told, he was the most gentle soul one could hope to meet.

Kind of like Seth.

+

The next morning, Korin was awake and out of bed before anyone else. She didn't know if Leah had come back from patrol yet. Though, as she threw her covers off of her and rushed out of her room, she did noticed the sunrise peaking through her closed blinds. Ripping her door open, she rushed out into the hallway and over to the bathroom.

Closing the door behind her, Korin swirled around and lunged for the toilet. She quickly crouched down in front of the toilet, throwing both the lid and the seat up before hurling down into the bowl. Her eyes began to burn and then water slightly as she continued to vomit up the thick, black liquid. Her hands gripped either side of the edge of the bowl as she leaned her face directly over the inside of the bowl, not wanting to make a mess.

Korin groaned quietly, trying to stay as silent as possible. She didn't want to wake anyone up and she really didn't want any of the others seeing her this way. She continued to heave, her shoulders hunched and her entire body quivering with every racking gag.

"Rin?"

Korin jumped, slapping both her hands over her mouth as she turned to face the shapeshifter standing in the open doorway. She frowned slightly, not even having heard him open the door.

"Shit..." Seth whispered, his eyes widening at the sight of her.

She looked even more pale, if possible, almost sickly. Somehow, she was all clammy and sweating, her greasy dark locks sticking to her forehead and her entire body was shaking slightly.

"Rin, what's wrong? What's wrong? Tell me. Please." He blurted out in a blind panic, his words coming out in a hurry as he move towards her.

"Don't!" Korin yelped, holding a hand out to stop him.

Seth froze instantly. Though, there was a pained expression on his face. "Rin -"

"D-don't..." Korin mumbled before immediately turning back around and crouching back over the toilet bowl. She then proceeded to hurl an entire six-pack of beer's worth back out.

Seth was beside her in a heartbeat. He stared down into the bowl, freezing instantly when he spotted the black liquid covering the inside of the toilet. His heart began to thud really fast in his chest, but somehow, he managed to stay composed.

He wasn't going to let her down this time.

He wasn't going to just fall apart like he had the first time around.

Korin groaned, clutching the edge of the toilet bowl and mentally pleading her body to stop. "Seth..." She breathed, almost moaned (painfully).

Seth instantly snapped out of his stupor and knelt down beside her. "I'm right here, Rin. I'm right here. I'm not gonna leave you." He told her, his voice soft. He tried to reach out to swipe her hair from her face and couldn't deny the sting he got from her pulling away.

"I didn't ever want you to see me like this... I didn't ever want anyone to see me like this..." Korin muttered, her voice barely above a whisper as she now sat slumped beside the toilet.

Seth was thankful for his good hearing and felt himself smile slightly at her words. He was thankful that she wasn't just trying to push him because she didn't trust him or just out of spite. She just didn't want him to see her vulnerable side.

"Rin," He began. He let out a tired little sigh as he reached up again and this time gently swiped her hair from her face to behind her neck.

Korin slowly allowed her gaze to lift back up to his. She stared at him with a glum expression on her face. Though, there was a little intrigue lingering in her eyes as she waited for him to continue. As she listened to him, she let herself take him in properly this time.

He really did look the same, but  
then again, he also really didn't. It was as if she was looking at a more enhanced version of the little boy that used to follow her around like a little lost "puppy" - 'No pun intended.' In any other situation, that thought would have made her smile in amusement.

"I think I've already seen you at your worst. Don't you?" Seth asked. He wore a small smile, letting her know that he wasn't bringing that up just for a cheap jibe.

Korin sighed quietly and nodded. "Yeah... Yeah, I guess you have." She agreed. "Why didn't you come back down for a beer?" She suddenly asked.

She was thankful that her body had calmed down. Though, she was a little confused as to how fast it had done so. In fact, she felt calm from the moment her eyes had landed on Seth.

'Weird...' She frowned slightly at that thought.

Seth thought her expression was aimed towards him and let out a small, defeated sigh. "I was going to. Really, I was." He insisted.

Korin simply nodded. "But...?" She coaxed.

Seth didn't really want to go into detail right now, but he couldn't lie to her, either. "My mom wanted to talk to me. She's still kinda pissed about the way I acted towards you."

Korin nodded again and this time, she felt slightly guilty from bringing it up.

Seth noticed this quickly. "But it's all good now. She told me off, lectured me, punished me through Jacob with extra patrols," He rolled his eyes at that one. "And then told me to, and I quote: "get the shit out of my bedroom and keep the shitting noise down unless you wanna lose a tail in the morning."" He smirked in amusement at that part.

Korin had to chuckle at that. "Well, I'm glad nothing much has changed around here."

Seth let out a small chuckle, too. It was like his body reacted instantly to hers; from every smile and chuckle to every spark of both pain and glee.

Korin leaned back and quickly flushed the toilet, the black liquid swirling around and then disappearing completely.

"C'mon," Seth said. He quickly pulled himself back up onto his feet and leaned back down towards his imprintee, holding out a hand to her.

Korin reached up, sliding her freezing hand into his searing one, allowing him to pull her gently back up onto her feet. "Thanks." She said, shooting him a small dopey smile.

Seth frowned, looking concerned when he noticed her glazed over eyes. "Are you okay, now?" He asked, searching her entire face for any inclination.

Korin nodded slowly. "Yeah. Just a little dizzy." She told him, her voice rather low. "It's fine. It'll pass. It always does." She assured.

Seth's frown only deepened. "Always?" He repeated. "This has happened before?" He asked, now looking a little panicked once again.

"Only when I drink... Or eat..." Korin explained with a sheepish little grin.

Seth relaxed, but only slightly. "So... You're not..."

Korin smirked in amusement. "What? Gonna die?" She asked, clearly teasing him.

Seth glared at her. "Don't even joke about shit like that, Rin." He told her, his voice dangerously low and stern.

Korin stared back at him, her expression slowly morphing from one of confusion then to guilt once more. "I... I was just trying to lighten the mood." She mumbled, mentally scalding herself. She let out an annoyed little huff before lightly brushing passed him and hobbling back to her bedroom as fast as she could.

"Rin," Seth quickly followed closely behind her. Only when she continued to ignore him and finally reached her bedroom door did he jumped in front of her, blocking her from going any further. "Rin, I'm sorry."

Korin simply glared up at him. "Everybody's sorry." She muttered, folding her arms rather defiantly over her chest. "I just don't think I can take it anymore."

Seth stared down at her, his expression rather withered now.

He didn't really know what to say to that. He didn't realise how truly difficult this imprinting business was. He just wanted to make things better for her, any way he could. He would literally do anything to make her happy or even happier.

He was her other half, so why was it so difficult to figure out what she needed?

Shouldn't he have known without even having to ask?

Shouldn't it have been simpler?


	18. Zombie Doctor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "So, who's your zombie doctor?"

In the next couple of weeks, everything was slowly and finally turning back to normal for Korin. Or at least a normal as possible.

She had even ventured out a few times with Leah. Though, that was mainly thanks to Solan, who'd seem to bring her out of her shell on the little day trips they planned every Sunday. She had also visited a few other old friends from the tribe, but she had yet to see the rest of them.

She and Seth had also grown closer and though things were still a little unstable for the undead girl, she hadn't felt as happy as she did now for a long, long time.

In fact, she couldn't remember that last burst of true happiness she felt.

+

"So, who's your zombie doctor?" Solan asked with a lopsided grin as he absentmindedly stirred his steaming mug of coffee.

Korin pulled her gaze from the cafe window and chuckled lightly over at her undead - "zombie" friend. "His name's Doctor Cullen. He's actually a vampire."

Solan quirked a brow at her. "Vampires aren't really good company to keep. In my experience, anyway. Most vampires are just the most arrogant assholes ever. Think they're so much better than the rest of us." He mumbled under his breath.

Korin rolled her eyes, but she had to agree with him on that one.

He was right; most vampires were pompous pricks, but she knew all too well that the Cullen's weren't like most vampires.

"True." She nodded. "But the Cullen's are different."

"Wait, "Cullen's"? As in, there's more than one of them? Why're you hanging around with vampires? Why am I only just finding out about this right now? What the hell, Kozza? 'S wrong witch you, girlie?" Solan asked, his eyes widening as he caught the plural of her statement.

Korin smirked slightly in amusement. She simply adored the strange, but rather affectionate nickname he had already given her. "Well, y'know how we're like, reformed human flesh eaters?" She asked, trying to ignore how weird it sounded just to say those words.

Solan simply nodded, waiting for her to carry on.

"Well, the Cullens are kinda the same." Korin stated with a casual shrug. "They don't feed on human blood, but unlike us, they still need to feed to keep up their strength. So, they hunt animals instead." She explained. "Oh and y'know how vampires eyes are always red?"

Solan nodded. "Yeah, I've always wondered about that, actually." He noted, more to himself.

Korin smiled at his curiosity. "Well, that's because those vampires all feed on human blood. The Cullen's eyes are all a pretty golden colour instead, so that's how you can always tell who's eats what. Oh, and all vamps eyes turn black when they're, um, hungry." She added that last part with a sheepish smile.

To keep herself busy throughout her rehab with the Cullen's, among a few other hobbies, she also learned a great deal about vampires and was simply fascinated.

The shapeshifter thing was pretty fucking awesome, too, she had to admit. She'd grown up hearing all about the legends of her tribe, but it was one thing to believe and a whole other actually seeing it for herself. Even if she weren't all that human anymore.

Solan stared blankly back at her for a few moments. "Hmm." He muttered, looking rather thoughtful.

""Hmm"?" Korin repeated, quirking a brow back at him.

"I guess if they don't kill folks, it's all good." Solan finally stated with an approving smile. "I mean, I know what we did was just as bad, probably worse, but we're different. We had no control. It was just basic zombie instinct."

Korin sighed and nodded in agreement.

"But that's what our meds are for!" Solan chimed happily, trying to lighten his friend's mood.

Korin shot him a watery smile in return.

"Washington's new shipment arrived just last night. So, be expecting a house call in the next week." Solan quipped, looking rather amused.

Korin simply rolled her eyes playfully back at him. "Hey, do you know what happened to the rest of the world during the Rising?" She asked, that question suddenly popping up into her mind.

Solan took a few gulps of his coffee before replying. "Well, I know that it affected pretty much the entire US. My doctor told me that it spread all the way to Mexico, Brazil, Canada, all in a matter of weeks. And apparently, word reached across the pond somehow."

"What happened?" Korin asked, staring over at him in anticipation.

Solan took another few gulps of his coffee. "The Europeans were ready for us. We took a huge chuck outta their population, but it was no where near as bad as the damage we caused over here. But they managed to contain the situation and even managed to send a base of troops over to help the Americans out. Uh, the Middle East took it pretty well. Most of Asia, too, what with the nuclear weapons and everything. I think once the word got out of what was really going down, everyone became a little more careful. For a while it was a jungle out there; kill or be killed type of life. It didn't last long, though." He grinned in amusement at this point before continuing. "Humans are very curious creatures. It wasn't enough that they knew how to contain or even kill us. No, they wanted to re-introduced us back into the population, like nothing even happened."

Korin frowned slightly at what he was clearly hinting. "You think this whole thing is some sort of test theory?" She asked, curious to hear his views.

She'd never even thought of that until now.

What if the humans didn't really give two shits about the undead?

What if this really was all some sort of test?

If so, then, would the meds really last all that long long-term?

Solan simply shrugged. "Who knows?" He asked right back. "I'm just saying that they're being a little too optimistic if they think the rest of the world is looking to give us zombies a second chance. After what we did, frankly, I doubt the rest of the world wants to hear or see us ever again." His words were serious and sincere, but his voice was still rather lighthearted.

Although, Korin knew that was just his bubbly personality. He really did remind her of Seth sometimes.

At that though, Korin frowned slightly. Seth had meant to come out with her today, but had conveniently backed out at the last moment - saying he had to patrol, when he saw Solan turn up at the house.

"I doubt it, too." She murmured back, her thoughts now all centred around Seth. Her frown deepened slightly when she realised that this had been happening a lot lately.

In fact, from the night she had taken a chunk out of that vampire who tried to kill Seth in his wolf form. It wasn't entirely unpleasant, a little embarrassing, but she just wanted to know why the hell it was happening. She had always thought of Seth and loved him, but it seemed different this time around. Very different.

"Hey, Kozza, I once drank a lava lamp and fucked a German Sheppard dog..."

Korin instantly snapped out of her thoughts upon that and glanced back over at her friend in utter mortification.

Solan simply chuckled, his eyes lighting up in amusement. "Just checkin' to see if you were still in there."

Korin rolled her eyes playfully at him. "Still." She replied over-dramatically. "And, ew." She added, screwing her pale face up in disgust at his previous statement.

Solan chuckled again. "I was kidding." He told her.

"Sure you were." Korin retorted with a small, amused smirk.

Solan scoffed, feigning an offended expression. "Okay, the lava lamp thing is true." He finally admitted. "But I'm not that gross, Kozza. What'd you take me for, girlie?" He added with a look of pure disgust.

Korin had to chuckle at that. "I believe you." She replied, deciding to humour him.

Solan shot her a playful glare.

"Well, this is cosy."

Korin's head snapped up upon hearing that all too familiar voice. "Leah? What're you doing here?" She asked, looking slightly confused.

Leah rarely ever ventured up to Port Angelus. Not unless she was sneaking out to go clubbing, like she used to, like they both used to, together.

Leah smirked back down at her best friend. "I got really bored, so I decided to follow you." She stated, wiggling her eyebrows in a hinting manner.

Korin caught on surprisingly quickly and nodded in acknowledgement.

Of course, Leah had followed her up here on all fours, and covered in fur. After all though, she and Leah could always read each other like a first grader's text book.

Leah finally glanced over to the man sitting opposite her best friend and almost choked on her own spit when her eyes lifted up and landed on his. She knew what had happened the very moment it happened. She suddenly felt the earth shift beneath her feet, all her cares, her fears, her anger, all vanished instantly, replaced by a warm, buzzing feeling deep in the pit of her stomach.

Yeah, she had imprinted, alright.

But she had also sensed what he was  
before she'd even acknowledged his  
presence. She had imprinted on a zombie,  
in short. It was a little surreal, but then  
again, so was finding out that Seth had  
imprinted on Korin.

Of course, the entire pack and their own imprintees knew about this, too. Everyone accept for Korin.

But now, to Leah, even all of that didn't matter. As she stared into this stranger's mousy brown orbs, she somehow knew that all of that stupid, meaningless shit would work itself out in the end. Not even stupid Sam and Emily mattered anymore and that was what felt the most wonderful; she was free now, finally.

All this from just one look, the very first look, the magic look.

"Um, Leah?" Korin called out nervously, seeing her best friend's wide-eyed expression and statuesque frame. She glanced back over at Solan and noticed a similar expression on his face, too. She frowned deeply, looking rather confused herself as she stared between the two. "Um, guys?" She asked, slowly waving a hand between their odd staring competition.

Finally, Leah seemed to snap out of it. She somehow managed to tear her eyes away from the handsome stranger's and back over to her best friend. "Uhh... What?" She muttered, feeling her cheeks burn with embarrassment suddenly. She frowned slightly at that.

Nothing ever made her blush. At least, not since douchebag Sam.

Korin shot her rather flustered best friend an odd look, glancing briefly over to Solan, too. "Are you okay?" She asked slowly, arching a brow. "Do you need to sit down?" She asked, shuffling along her side of the booth and patting the space beside her.

"Uhh, yeah... Thanks." Leah mumbled, rushing to take the seat beside her best friend. Though, she seemed to be looking anywhere, but across at Solan.

Korin stared curiously at her best friend's sudden strange behaviour, but decided to ask her about it later instead of embarrassing her any further.

"Do you need some water or something?" Solan asked, looking deeply concerned for the beautiful stranger.

She truly was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. And he had seen some pretty attractive women in his time. Though, none of them even began to compare to this gorgeous russet goddess. Not even the beautiful Korin seem to match this beauty sitting right in front of him, right now.

He suddenly felt very lucky for the chance, rather than his usual cocky attitude. And he would have questioned his judgement, that were if she wasn't so damn beautiful.

"N-no." Leah stuttered, mentally cursing herself with the foulest language she could muster up in her mind in that moment.

He probably already thought that she was a freaking nervous wreck.

"I'm fine... But thanks." She added, mentally high-fiving herself for her steady voice.

Solan didn't look all that convinced and neither did Korin.

+

After a brief chat between her and Solan, Korin had said her goodbyes and then departed from the cafe. Leah hadn't really said much after her odd little outburst. And now as the two best friends drove home in Sue's old truck, Korin couldn't help herself any longer.

"So, what was that all about?" Korin piped up from the driver's seat.

"What?" Leah asked all too casually, not even bothering to tear her gaze from the passenger's window.

Korin rolled her eyes and smirked to herself as she looked at her best friend from the corner of her eye. She knew Leah too well, but she decided to humour her anyway.

"Back there in the cafe. With Solan."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Leah said in a calm and collected tone. She finally tore her gaze from the window and glanced over at her best friend with a rather serious expression on her dark russet features.

"Are we really playing this game, Lil?" Korin countered. She shot her best friend a rather pointed look before turning her eyes back to the road ahead.

Leah knew all too well that she was a really good liar. It was probably part of why she could hide her thoughts from the pack so well.

However, she also knew all too well that she could never lie to Korin. For whatever reason -- maybe it was Korin's trustworthy personality and kind and caring nature or maybe it was because Leah loved her so damn much.

Either way, she should have known that she was going to crack, like she was just about to know.

She knew that Korin had grown up hearing all about the legends of the wolves and even the ones about imprinting. But she also knew that Seth still hadn't told Korin he'd imprinted on her. Leah also knew that it wasn't her place to tell her that, but that didn't mean it didn't piss her off.

'Seth is such a fucking pansy. And now if I tell her about imprinting on her dead friend, she's probably gonna wanna know if he's imprinted, too!'

She knew this all too well, also. Which made things rather complicated all of a sudden.

"Leah, seriously." Korin said. "Do you not like him?" She asked sadly.

"What?" Leah asked, snapping out of her clouded thoughts.

"It's just that, you were staring at him like he was an alien or something." Korin stated, though, she wore a slight questioning look. "You wanna tell me what that's about?" She asked, arching a brow over at the she wolf.

"If I tell you, you can't tell anyone. At least, not yet... Promise?" Leah asked.

She needed to figure things out and clear her head before anyone else knew and then hounded her all about it. And besides, she wanted to tell them herself.

Korin shot her a curious look, but nodded anyway. "I promise." She insisted, looking slightly worried now.

"Okay... I kinda... Imprinted on your friend." Leah stated with a sheepish smile.

""Imprinted"?" Korin repeated.

"Yeah." Leah nodded. "Do you remembers the legends?" She asked warily.

Korin nodded. "I remember fine. I just... I'm confused." She stated, wearing a deep frown.

Leah tried not to be offended by that. She knew it was the imprint causing that rise out of her and she wasn't going to give into it. Not just yet, anyway. And not when it concerned wanting to hurt someone she cared about for unintentionally hurting or bad mouthing her imprintee.

"What'd you mean? Confused about what?" She asked, frowning slightly, too.

"Well, for one thing; he's dead. Like me." Korin stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Leah finally glared over at her, unable to help it. "I know that!" She snapped before she could really stop herself.

Korin stared at her in shock for a moment. Though, she had heard how intense this magical imprinting bond was, so she didn't feel too upset about her friend's off behaviour.

"I just meant that... I don't know what I meant. I just thought that this imprinting thing was so that you guys could carry on the wolf gene."

Leah sighed loudly in defeat and nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Trust me, I'm completely mind-fucked right now."


	19. Protect You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Yeah. It's not like I'd ever let anything bad happen to you, Rin. I'd protect you with my life, you've always known that."

The next morning, Korin was up bright and early, thanks to that coffee she'd drank with Solan. Maybe she didn't have to pretend to blend in this much - at least, not when it just made her feel even more like a fricking zombie.

Korin all, but ripped her bedroom door open and flew down the hallway before slamming the bathroom door behind her. She swirled around and landed right in front of the toilet and throwing the lid up, she finally threw up the usual (when consuming something other than flesh, of course) black, congealed liquid. However, this time, after hurling just a couple of times, she was already beginning to feel a little better.

"Rin?"

Korin's head snapped up at the sound of his voice. She frowned slightly, wondering both how she could sense him coming and how he seemed to make her feel better just by simply being near her.

Was it even him?

It had to be.

Right?

"Shit, not again, Rin." Seth was beside her in the next moment. He crouched down beside her and quickly swiped her hair back out of her face. "What did you eat this time?" He half joked, clearly trying to lighten the mood.

"Coffee. It's the coffee." Korin gurgled, reaching over to spit up a little more into the toilet bowl.

"Why do you do it, Rin? When it only causes you pain." Seth said, his own expression showing a little painful tug.

Korin simply shrugged as she leaned forward to finally flush the toilet. She did already feel a lot better.

Maybe it really was because of Seth.

But why?

Seth frowned deeply. "Rin..."

Korin finally glanced up at him when she noticed him stiffen slightly. She frowned slightly, watching the slight look of concentration on his adorable face. "What is it?" She croaked.

"Someone's here." Seth muttered, slowly rising to his feet. He then, leaned back down, slipping an arm around his imprintee and carefully lifting her back up to her feet as well.

Korin didn't like the sudden alert-mode the wolf was in. In fact, she began to panic a little. "Is it a vampire?" She whispered, her eyes widening at the thought.

Her last encounter with a vampire who wasn't a Cullen wasn't exactly the best.

"Yeah, but don't worry." Seth told her, shooting her a small reassuring smile.

""Don't worry"?" Korin repeated, glaring up at him.

Seth simply smiled. "Yeah. It's not like I'd ever let anything bad happen to you, Rin. I'd protect you with my life, you've always known that." He pointed out.

Korin stared at him for a moment, trying to read his odd expression. He was giving her that weird, but incredibly intense stare again. And it wasn't a stare one would give to a good friend.

"Seth, that's not what I meant. What's a vampire gonna do to me that already hasn't been done? Besides the fact that I'm already dead." She pointed out, noticing the flinch he gave at the 'D' word. "It's you that I'm worried about. And Leah and your mom."

"Hello? Seth?"

Both Korin and Seth's head's snapped over to the open bathroom door, where Carlisle Cullen stood with his usual pleasant smile on his flawless, pale face.

"I hope I'm not interrupting." Carlisle said, shooting them both an apologetic look.

Korin sighed tiredly, but managed to force a pleasant smile back. "No. It's all good." She said, turning away from the shifter to face the vampire instead.

Seth frowned slightly to himself.

"What's going on?" Korin asked her vampire doctor, frowning curiously.

Carlisle's smiled widened. "Nothing to worry about. I've just come to drop off your new batch of medication." He explained.

Korin suddenly felt slightly ashamed and rather embarrassed at the present topic of discussion. She didn't know why, Seth had already seen her at her very lowest.

"Um, okay. Thanks." She mumbled. She averted her gaze quickly to the tiled bathroom floor, trying to hide her reddened cheeks.

And that only caused Seth's frown to deepen. 'Is she... Embarrassed? Because of me?' Then for some reason, he suddenly felt slightly ashamed of himself, too.

Had he not made it clear enough for her?

Did she still really not trust him enough?

'It's not even an imprint thing. I've always loved her. I've always been there. How can she not know!? What the fuck is wrong with me!?'

"You're very welcome, my dear." Carlisle said, snapping both the imprints from their dense, clouded thoughts. "How have you been getting on?" He asked the "reformed" undead girl.

Korin briefly glanced at Seth before answering that question. "Well, to be honest, things were a little rocky. At first, anyway... But then everything went pretty much back to normal. I guess I just needed to slowly ease myself back into things again." She explained, adding a enthused grin for the extra affects.

She didn't want to out Seth for her behaviour towards her upon first returning home. Mainly because she really didn't have the heart to do that to him and because she knew he had a right to be angry and upset at her.

Besides, she didn't want to go back to the way she was before.

"Well, I'm very glad to hear that." Carlisle replied with another pleasant and rather breathtaking smile.

He was slightly concerned by the shifter's odd behaviour. Seth had always been a talkative and energetic person.

"And Seth? how are you doing?" He asked, trying to involve the young man.

He knew how close Korin was with both the Clearwater siblings, Seth in particular.

Seth finally lifted his eyes to the vampire and slapped on the brightest smile he could muster up in that moment. "Oh, y'know, same old, same old." He chirped with a casual shrug. "Tell Edward I'll be over to see him real soon."

Carlisle's smile brightened.

This was the Seth that he knew and was used to, even though he could sense that something was still slightly wrong. However, he wasn't one to poke around in other people's business. Besides, he knew that the shifter was more than capable of looking after himself.

"I shall." He replied with a nod.

"You're friends with Edward?" Korin asked, turning to the russet man towering over her.

He really had grown so fricking tall. And she secretly loved it...

'Wait... What!?'

Seth smiled and nodded. "For a while, now, yeah." He said. "When Jake, uh, broke away from Sam's pack, he did it to protect Bella and her unborn child; Renesmee."

Korin nodded in acknowledgement. "Yeah. Renesmee showed me." She said, smiling faintly at the memories of the enchanting half-vampire human child relaying her own memories to her just by laying a hand on her cold and pale face.

Seth's smile brightened slightly. He was glad to know that his imprintee was already friends with his own friends.

"Hey, Carlisle," Korin frowned, question popping to her mind, one that she hadn't really considered before. "Why's Ness the only one who can use her ability on me?"

Carlisle was rather caught off guard by that question. Mainly because he, too, had never really considered asking it himself.

Seth looked more intrigued than anything. "What'd you mean?" He asked, glancing to his imprintee.

Korin's frown deepened slightly. "I dunno... It's just that Edward said he couldn't read my thoughts. But he also said that it wasn't like I was blocking them from him like Bella can. He said it was like there was literally nothing there."

"Well, I do have one theory, for now anyway." Carlisle said, earning the both imprints' attention instantly. "When a human transforms into a vampire, there is always that little part of them deep down that is still alive. And this is what allows us to be 'reborn'."

A look of realisation then suddenly swept across Korin's face, whereas Seth still looked slightly lost. "And when I died, I was dead. Like... Really, really dead."

Carlisle nodded. He couldn't help smile mentally at how smart and clued up this girl really was. She seemed to bright, so beautiful.

So why had she just ended it all?

What could she have possibly been running from to push her that far over the edge?

"Edward's ability isn't simply just magic." The vampire stated, smiling in amusement to himself. "It's also science. Edward told me that he could always read the minds of humans, from the moment he was reborn, but that he had to practise and concentrate just a little harder to get into the minds of vampires or any of supernatural beings. The brainwaves he picks up from the humans are also still present in a vampire's mind."

"So, sort of like left over garbage that someone forgot to take out?" Seth asked, quirking a brow.

Korin wanted to glare at him, but only ended up smirking in amusement. "Okay. But that still doesn't explain why Renesmee can use her ability." She pointed out, glancing back to the vampire for answers.

"Well, that I shall simply have to discover for myself before letting you know." Carlisle answered, shooting her another apologetic smile.

Korin sighed, unable to help feeling a little disappointed. "It's fine. You already explained enough. So, thank you." She stated graciously with a small, grateful smile.

Carlisle shot her an appreciative look in return. "I just have one more matter to discuss with you before I leave."

Korin frowned, looking slightly curious. "What's that?" She asked.

"Your method of medication." Carlisle stated simply.

Korin gulped slightly. She'd forgotten about that. Fuck, taking that fucking shot burned almost as bad as the black bile.

Seth frowned deeply, sensing his imprintee's sudden discomfort and nervousness. "How does she take it usually?" He asked, speaking up for her.

Korin frowned at that. She felt slightly relieved that he was speaking for her and grateful that he seemed to want to help. However, it still felt really weird and not in a good way. She didn't want Seth to see her doing... That. She didn't want anyone to see her taking that damn shot.

"A quick shot to the back of the neck." Carlisle replied, glancing at the shifter. "It's incredibly easy to do, but it does tend to cause quite a bit of discomfort for a few minutes after." He explained carefully, not wanting to leave anything out and wanting them both to understand everything fully.

"What'd you by "discomfort"? How much discomfort?" Seth asked hastily, looking rather alarmed.

Carlisle shot him a strange glance.

The odd look in the shifter's own eyes seemed awfully familiar to him. It was a lot like the way Jacob would look at Renesmee when he was worried about her safety.

'I wonder...'

"Seth, it's fine. It doesn't last that long and it doesn't even hurt that much." Korin said.

She felt bad for lying to him, but she didn't want him worrying over nothing. It wasn't as if she could die from pain. Or die from anything else, for the matter.

"What!?" Seth snapped, staring at her as if she was insane. "Isn't there another way you can give the shot to her?" He asked, glancing rather pleadingly back at the vampire doctor.

Carlisle shot the shifter an apologetic look and shook his head. "I'm afraid not." He said. "The serum has to go straight to her central nervous system. And the only way to do that is to go by direct contact. She already has an implant embedded into the back of her neck. It's barely noticeable and it's perfectly safe, I assure you. In fact, it is what's letting her stay in control." He explained.

"So, she has to do this?" Seth asked.

Carlisle simply nodded.

"Forever?" Seth asked. Although, he already knew the answer.

Carlisle sighed quietly and nodded. "Yes."

Korin huffed. 'Am I fucking invisible, all of a sudden!?'

Maybe it was just the lack of shit in her system that was making her grouchy.

"Okay, let's get this bitch over with." She grumbled before finally shuffling back out of the bathroom.


	20. Zombie Bullsh*t

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Well, you were so pissed off when I first got here... And then I finally got you back and I guess, I dunno, I didn't want anything to ruin it. In case you haven't noticed; I'm trying really hard to keep all of this zombie bullshit away from you."

Carlisle followed Seth down the hallway and into the small living room where his patient was already waiting for them. "Korin, I think it's best if you let Seth do it this time." He said.

Both Korin and Seth's eyes widened in terror. "What!?" They asked in unison.

Carlisle smiled reassuringly between them. "I will show Seth how to do it and he can show Leah how to do it as well, if you'd like. It's easy. And it's not as if you can do it yourself." He pointed out. "I promise, it's completely safe."

"B-but..." Korin frowned slightly. "I mean, I guess..." Her frown deepened as she turned her gaze to the shifter. "Seth?"

Seth smiled slightly. "Yeah." He replied. "I mean, if you trust me to do it, that is..." He trailed off nervously, shooting her a slightly questioning look.

'I think another wolf has imprinted. Poor boy.' Carlisle thought to himself, wearing a small smile of amusement. 'Hmm. I wonder if Jacob already knows...'

Korin took a deep breath and then nodded. "Yeah. Okay. Let's just get it over with." She said, walking over to the dining room table. She dragged out one of the wooden chairs and sat down on it as the shifter and the vampire slowly followed her.

Seth had to admit, he felt kind of nervous and a little scared. "I won't hurt her, will I?" He asked timidly, glancing to the vampire doctor.

Carlisle shot him a soft, reassuring smile and shook his head. "You won't, no."

Seth didn't really like that answer, but he knew this had to be done. And if it helped Korin in the long run, then he was more than willing to do anything.

"Okay. Show me how to do this." He said, taking a deep breath for himself to steady his nerves.

Carlisle slipped a hand into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small black, leather box. He opened it carefully and held it out in front of the shifter to show him what was inside. "Now, there are four viles here. She requires one shot every week."

"Wait, every week?" Seth asked, looking confused. "She's been home for almost a month. How's she been taking her meds all this time?" He asked, glancing between the doctor and his imprintee.

Korin smiled sheepishly. "Um, I kinda had Leah drive me back and forth from the Cullen house." She explained simply.

Seth frowned slightly, unable to help feeling a little hurt by all the secrecy. "Why didn't you tell me?" He asked. "I could have taken you."

Korin shrugged, looking rather awkward about the whole thing now. "Well, you were so pissed off when I first got here... And then I finally got you back and I guess, I dunno, I didn't want anything to ruin it. In case you haven't noticed; I'm trying really hard to keep all of this zombie bullshit away from you."

Seth's frown only deepened at this. "But why? I'm not a kid anymore, Rin." He said, sounding rather offended as well as put out.

Korin huffed. "Look, we can talk about this later, okay? Can you just gimme the damn shot already!?" She snapped, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at the floor.

Seth glanced to Carlisle, who shot him a rather helpless look. Seth sighed and nodded. "Fine. Let's do this."

If there was one thing that the shifter already hated about this stupid imprint thing, it was definitely not being able to argue with his imprintee. And she was so fucking stubborn anyway, he'd almost forgotten how stubborn she really was. And while that was one thing he kind of hated about her, he also weirdly kind of loved it, too. This imprinting thing was a serious mind fuck.

Carlisle nodded. "As I was saying - there's a month's supply here. One shot every Sunday. It doesn't really matter about the time of day, as long as it's been taken." He explained slowly and clearly and he placed the box on the dining room table in front of Korin.

He then, pulled out the small syringe and one of the viles with the bright green liquid inside. Sticking the needle into the top of the rubber lid of the vile, he extracted the entire contents of the green substance and placed the now empty vile back onto the table.

"Hold this." He said, handing the full syringe over to the shifter.

Seth nervously reached out and took it from the vampire doctor as he watched him move behind his imprintee.

Korin sat up straight in her seat and leaned her head forward without having been asked to. She was used to this procedure by now, of course.

Carlisle reached out and gently pulled her long black locks over the front of her left shoulder. He glanced over at the shifter and motioned with his hand for him to come closer.

Seth did as he was requested and slowly shuffled to stand beside the vampire doctor and behind his imprintee.

"See that?" Carlisle asked, pointing the small black dot on the back of the undead girl's neck.

Seth glanced down to see the small black dot on the base of her neck, just above her shoulder line. He then, simply nodded in response.

"That's the entry point of the implant. You can touch it, it doesn't hurt her." Carlisle explained.

Again, Seth simply nodded, not knowing what else to do.

This situation still felt a little surreal to him. And again, that really was saying something in his line of freaky work and lifestyle.

Korin gripped the chair either side of her backside as she waited in both anticipation and terror. Somehow, knowing what was coming actually made her feel worse about it.

Seth frowned slightly, already sensing her discomfort and the unmistakeable feeling of her fear. And somehow, he fought the urge to toss the syringe aside and throw his arms around her to comfort her in anyway he possibly could.

"All you have to do is inject the needle into that black dot." Carlisle said.

And he really did make it sound so very simple. If only.

He stepped aside, motioning again for the shifter to come closer.

Seth shuffled closer until he was standing right behind his imprintee. He slowly reached out his free hand and gently rested it over her left shoulder. It was mainly to keep her in place, but also to hopefully comfort her, if even a little.

"Relax, Rin." He whispered, the contradiction of his own shaky voice barely above a whisper.

"You, too." Korin mumbled with a nervous little chuckle. Somehow, she knew she could feel his hesitancy.

Carlisle smiled reassuring at the shifter and nodded as a sort of go-ahead motion.

Seth turned back to his imprintee and took another deep breath. "Okay, here we go." He said, mainly to let her know he was really doing it now.

Korin quickly screwed her eyes shut, her hands gripping the bottom of her chair even tighter. "Do it." She whispered, knowing he would hear her.

Seth didn't allow himself to hesitate this time. He held her shoulder with one hand and slowly lowered the syringe to the tiny pin-point head of the implant. He winced slightly as he watched the needle pierce her skin, though, he was surprised that she didn't flinch one bit. He then pressed down on the other end of the syringe and watched as the green liquid slowly disappeared. It was only when he pulled the needle back out of her flesh that he saw just how the medication affected her.

Korin's body jolted forward suddenly. She gripped the seat as tightly as she could, though, her entire form then began to seize violently all over again. 'Every damn time, ugh!'

"Rin!" Seth cried. He quickly tossed the syringe onto the table before crouching down in front of her. "What the fuck is happening to her!?" He roared, glaring over at the vampire doctor.

"It will pass. I promise you." Carlisle assured him. He stood behind his patient, placing a comforting hand on the back of her quivering shoulders. "Don't fight it, Korin. It will only hurt worse if you do." He told her, his voice soft and soothing.

Korin decided to trust him on that one, anything to make the pain go diminish, even if only a little. She stopped tensing her muscles altogether, letting herself succumb to the pain instead of trying to fight it off. Her body wasn't like a normal human's, after all. Her body didn't work the same way anymore and she was beginning to realise just how much.

"Rin," Seth whispered, slowly reaching a hand up and running it over her pale, cold cheeks. "Rin, look at me... Please, Rin, look at me..." He told her, staring at her closed eyes.

Korin slowly unscrewed her eyes and was immediately met with his delicious, dark chocolate pools. She could simply get lost in them, forever. If only she could, was allowed to. It was if he had distracted her from her pain, because in that moment she suddenly realised that the shaking had already stopped and she no longer felt that pain.

Seth also noticed this as his eyes briefly raked over her form, as if checking her over for any sign of pain or discomfort. "Hey, you okay?" He mumbled, shooting her a wary look.

Carlisle took a small step back and just watched the new imprints with a small, fond smile on his face.

Korin couldn't help, but smile back down at him. She shot him a reassuring look, even managed a small smile and with a nod she replied, "I am now."


	21. Smooth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Smooth."

"Y'know, I'm not so sure about this." Korin stated, the nerves clear in her voice as well as her pale and scar-littered features.

"Come on, it'll be fine. I promise." Seth insisted, shooting her a comforting smile.

"But what if they don't wanna know me at all anymore?" Korin asked, still looking rather uneasy about the entire thing. "I mean, not that I would blame any of them."

Seth frowned slightly. Though, he looked more upset than confused. "Don't be so ridiculous. They're your family, Rin. No one's gonna say anything. And even if they dare, I'll just beat the crap outta them." He concluded with a triumphant grin.

He had no doubt in his mind that the others would accept her back into their odd little family without even hesitating. Even if he was just trying to make her feel better, reassure her in any way that he could.

Korin rolled her eyes. "Well, that's comforting." She mumbled sarcastically.

"Solan will be there, too, by the way." Seth informed all too casually, while trying rather desperately not to burst out laughing.

"Since when?" Korin frowned, looking a little confused.

"Since I invited him." Seth told her, still trying to keep a straight face. 'Leah is gonna kill me... Totally worth it.' He thought rather smugly.

Korin's frown only deepened at that new piece of information. "What? ...Why?" She asked, feeling genuinely very confused about the whole thing. It did seem rather odd to her. "You hate Solan." She stated, quirking an expectant brow.

"What!?" Seth spluttered dramatically. "I don't..." He then, trailed off when she shot him a "what-the-Hell-ever" look. "Okay, I admit, I didn't really like him... At first... But he's... Grown on me... Very slowly..."

"You know, don't you?" Korin piped up, the realisation suddenly dawning on her. "That Leah imprinted on him." She elaborated, still waiting for his response. Although, she didn't really have to.

Seth couldn't hold back the smirk of amusement. "Okay, yes, totally." He finally admitted. "Leah's really good at keeping a lid on her thoughts, but c'mon! I mean, I'm her brother. I know the bitch, yo."

Korin shot him a playful glare over that little petname for his sister - one he used frequently, even as a child, much to the she wolf's irritation.

Seth simply grinned widely. "Come on, let's go wait out front. Solan's meeting us here. Leah's already at the beach with the others. She went straight there after her patrol shift with Jacob." He told her, slowly sauntering off out of the kitchen and down the hallway.

Korin let out a little huff before following after him.

She just hoped that this wasn't going to be a really awkward night for her and the others. She'd pretty much seen most of the tribe and they had been surprisingly welcoming and accepting of her.

Now, only her closest friends were left to go and visit finally and she was utterly terrified...

"Oh, hey, dude. Just in time." Seth chimed as he walked out of his house only to spot the undead man already walking up the driveway.

"Hello, fellow supernatural beings." Solan chimed back.

Korin watched incredulously as both males exchanged some weird guy handshake. 'What the fudge!?' She thought, utterly befuddled.

"Kozza, may I say that you are looking mighty delectable this fine evening." Solan said. He walked over to his fellow undead companion and pulled her into a brief one-armed hug.

"Hey. And you may. Thank you." Korin chirped back, shooting him a welcoming smile.

"So, uh... Is Leah around?" Solan asked, clearly trying to sound casual.

"Smooth." Seth shared a brief smirk with his own imprintee.

Solan simply glared at the both of them. Although, he was still waiting for an answer.

Seth chuckled. "She's already down at the beach, waiting with the others." He explained.

Solan smiled brightly and nodded. "Okay. Cool. Good... So, how're we getting there? Do you just pop into a giant, fluffy puppy, and then, we just hop on, and hang on tight for the ride?" He joked, shooting the shifter a teasing smirk.

Seth rolled his eyes at that little quip, but couldn't contain his own smirk. "Shut up, and get in the truck." He replied snootily.

"You're boyfriend's a little bossy, Kozza." Solan whispered, knowing full well that he could hear regardless.

Korin only glared back at her undead friend. Though, it was only to cover up her horrid blush.

What the hell was wrong with her?

Since when did she blush over such stupid little jokes?

Since when did Seth make her feel so fucking self-conscious?

"Shut up and get in the truck." She mumbled, following after the shifter.

Solan simply did as he was told, though, he was still smirking in amusement.

+

Seth slammed his rusty old door on his truck shut and walked over to his imprintee. "Are you okay, Rin?" He asked, his voice soft and his gaze slightly concerned.

Korin briefly stared over at the small crowd gathered a few yards away from where she stood on the sand. She quickly tore her gaze away from the familiar people and forced a smile onto her lips as she stared up at the worried shifter.

"I'm good."

She lied.

And it made her feel slightly sick to the stomach, as well as incredibly guilty. She didn't know why, but lying to Seth felt like she was committing the worst kind of sin.

Seth wasn't anywhere near convinced, but he didn't let it show.

He was, however, a little hurt and disappointed, but he didn't let that show, either. Mainly because he didn't hold it against her. He knew that it was nothing personal. It was just her way sometimes.

And he also knew what people could do when they were scared.

He simply nodded in response, shooting her a small, reassuring smile in return.

He knew she was scared, he could feel it. But he also knew that she was safe here, with all of the people who loved her the most. He knew the others would never turn her away, even if he hadn't imprinted on her.

Meanwhile, Solan was already making his way across the sand towards the others when Seth and Korin finally managed to shuffle their way over, following him closely behind.

"Wow! Look who finally made it." Paul chirped, smirking smugly over at Seth.

Seth shot him a brief glare. "We're late, because we were waiting for this one." He said, pointing at Solan.

Solan scoffed. "Well, I had to make myself look fabulous." He stated snootily, pointing his nose into the air.

Seth rolled his eyes. "So, uh... Look who's back." He chimed, motioning to his imprintee with a huge grin.

"Thanks, Sethy. Real subtle." Korin mumbled under her breath. "Um... Hey, guys." She piped up, waving meekly at the group.

"You look the same..." Quil said, staring up at her in complete wonder.

"Hey, Ko-Ko!" Jacob piped up, shooting her a big, hearty grin.

Korin shot him a small smile back. "Hey, Jake. Is Renesmee coming here, too?" She asked, looking a little bummed out.

Jacob also looked rather beat. "Nah. She's out hunting with the 'rents tonight." He explained.

Korin nodded, feeling a little sorry for the shifter.

"Well, make some room." Emily snapped, glaring at the others.

"Oh, no, it's okay." Korin said. "I'll just sit here." She said, planting herself next to Leah, who, of course, already had Solan seated the other side of her.

Seth quickly sat behind his imprintee, sitting on the end of the large log, beside Embry, Quil and Brady. "No Claire?" He asked.

"I don't want her around when I'm drinking." Quil said, wearing a sheepish grin as he held up his bottle of beer.

Seth nodded. He really didn't have any room to comment or tease his wolf brother now. At that thought, his eyes seem to automatically drift down to his own imprintee.

"It's good to have you back, K." Sam piped up, shooting her a small smile.

"You want a beer, K?" Jared asked.

"Um," Korin decided that it was worth it.

She wanted to fit in with her own family and friends. And she would do anything for that to happen. A normal life. Or as normal as possible.

"Yeah, please." She replied, shooting him a grin. "You must be Kim, right?" She asked, smiling at the pretty young girl in Jared's arms.

Kim nodded, smiling bashfully. "Hi." She mumbled quietly, a small blush rising to her cheeks.

"Kimmy's a little shy when you first get to know her." Jared piped up, his voice teasing, but gentle. He gave his imprintee an affectionate little squeeze around her waist and handed Korin the open bottle of beer.

Korin shot him a grateful smile as she took the beer from him and then took a few small sips.

Seth frowned deeply.

Why would she put herself through that again?

He wanted to stop her, but he knew that she would probably be angry or upset or at the very least, tell him to go fuck himself. Which he probably would have done if he was in her shoes.

"This is Brady," Leah piped up, motioning to the younger boy sitting behind her on the log beside Quil.

"Hey-ho." Brady chirped, giving her a friendly wave. "I'm new... Ish." He added that last part with an impish, but rather adorable grin. "But Collin's newer." He then added, motioning to the even younger-looking boy sitting in the sand beside him.

""Newer"?" Korin asked curiously. "As in..."

"Shifters. Yeah." Brady answered, looking rather proud of that fact.

"Cool beans." Korin said. "Hi." She added, shooting them both a small grin.

The Collin boy seemed even more shy that Kim.

"All the boys here, expect for Solan, of course and plus Leah are shifters." Embry piped up, shooting the she wolf and her undead imprint a rather sour look.

Leah simply rolled her eyes, clearly ignoring him and his "petty-ass" jealousy - as she had called it.

Besides, she was much too distracted right now. Now she knew what it really felt like. She could barely focus on the others and whatever conversation was going on. She wondered if anyone else noticed her staring. She wondered if Solan noticed himself, because if he did, he didn't show it.

+

"Oh, that is total bullshit!" Solan argued, scoffing loudly.

Paul rolled his eyes. "I'm telling you, man - us shifters are indestructible." He replied smoothly, shrugging casually.

Solan rolled his eyes. "So, you're telling me that if I smacked you in the head with a sledge-hammer - repeatedly, might I add - you wouldn't die?" He asked, shooting the shifter a rather sceptic look.

Paul went to answer, but hesitated for a moment, seeming to think over that scenario himself. "Hmm... Probably not."

Solan looked sorely unimpressed with his reply.

Clearly the wolf hadn't thought his argument all the way through.

"I think we'd heal... Slowly. But we'd heal." Quil added, contemplating the scenario himself.

"I dunno, man. I mean, maybe..." Jared said, looking a little reluctant on that matter.

"The brain is a complicated thing." Sam piped up. "It is possible. I guess anything is possible in the kind of lives that we lead."

"Well, we won't know for sure unless we try." Brady chimed. "Anyone up for trying?" He asked with a cheesy grin, causing the others to either roll their eyes or simply glare.

Korin, however, let out a light chuckle and for the first time in a long time, it was as easy as breathing. It was like she had never even left and it felt simply wonderful.


	22. With or Without

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With or without the imprint.

"Hey, has anyone heard about the new make of tampons?" Paul chirped, causing all eyes to flock to him. "They're called 'Vampire Teabags.'" He concluded with a boyish grin.

"Oh, dude! That is rank!" Quil exclaimed, looking utterly mortified.

The others simply howled with laughter. Even the girls.

Korin then piped up with a joke of her own. It was like she had never even left and it was the most wonderful feeling. They were so excepting of her and she was eternally grateful.

"Did you guys hear about the young blonde girl who failed her driving test?" She chirped, shooting them all an innocent little look. "When the car automatically stopped, she automatically climbed into the back-seat."

The others burst into laughter once more.

However, Brady seemed to be the only one who was confused. "I don't get it..."

A few of the other male shifters groaned in unison, shaking their heads at the younger male.

"It's a dogging joke, numbnuts." Paul piped up with a roll of his eyes.

"Oh. Right..." Brady mumbled, feeling his cheeks heat up slightly.

Korin chuckled in amusement and reached over to pat his bare back in sympathy. "Don't worry, boy-O. You'll get there."

Brady rolled his eyes, but couldn't help smirking.

"Who wants another beer?" Sam piped up, reaching behind him where the large cooler sat in the sand.

"Yup." Quil and Embry chimed in unison, then shooting a glare at one another.

Again, Korin had to laugh. She noticed how in synch these shifters were with each other and how similar they really all looked to one another. Even Leah, too. They truly were a tightly knit pack; a family.

And Korin wondered if she even really had a place here with them. She then realised that the only reason she was allowed to know their secrets was because of her own secrets and that kind of depressed her a little bit.

However, like she always did, she simply pushed any unwanted thoughts to the back of her mind and pretended like everything was okay. Well, at least it could have been worse anyway.

"Okay, okay, I got another one." Paul piped up as he cracked open his tenth bottle of beer. "Why can't a blonde girl count to seventy?" He waited for a moment, unable to hide his proud smirk. "'Cause sixty-nine is a bit of a mouthful."

Once more, the group erupted into laughter as they continued to drink the night away.

"Dude, you are one sick fuck!" Jacob commented, smirking over at his future brother-in-law.

"Pff! You're sister loves it." Paul muttered under his breath, knowing full well that the other Alpha would hear every single word.

"Ha!" Brady howled with laughter, unable to help himself.

"Dude, you just got fucking burned. Someone bust out the Aloe Vera." Embry told his rather shocked and outraged-looking best friend.

"Yeah." Quil added. "Do suttin!" He urged, clearly taunting the older wolf.

"Guys, let's not." Seth cut in, shooting them both a pointed glare.

He was always trying to keep the peace, whether it be between the Cullens and the between the pack members themselves.

Korin and the other girls giggled as they watched the scene unravel.

"Paul, you're lucky Rachel isn't here tonight." Emily piped up, shooting him a pointed look.

Jacob was still glaring at his stupid sister's imprint. His jaw was tightened, his fists shaking slightly as he fought the urge to phase and then proceed to rip his throat out.

At Emily's words, Paul's smug smirk quickly faded as he glanced over at her. "Uh... Don't tell her? ...Please?" He tried, smiling sheepishly.

Emily simply shrugged casually before turning in her own imprint's arms and hugging him closer.

Paul frowned slightly, but kept his mouth shut this time.

"I think you should be asking me not to tell her, not asking Emily." Jacob grunted, still glaring at the older shifter.

Paul simply rolled his eyes, but kept his mouth shut in defiance.

"Y'know what, it's getting kinda late. I think Sam and I are gonna head home." Emily suddenly piped up, shooting her imprint a brief, but clearly suggestive look.

Sam smirked slightly. "Uh, y-yeah. Night, all." He said, standing up, a little too quickly.

Emily rolled her eyes, smiling in amusement to herself as she rose slowly up beside him. "Seth, could you take the cooler in your truck? I'll come pick it up tomorrow."

Seth smiled and nodded. "Sure." He chirped. "And don't worry about coming to pick it up, I'll bring it around in the morning before I head out to college."

Emily shot him a grateful smile and nodded. "Thanks, sweets. And goodnight, folks."

Korin smiled to herself as she watched the couple wrap themselves around each other and slowly disappeared off of the sands.

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna head back, too." Paul piped up, slowly rising to his feet and brushing himself off. "Welcome back to the Fold, Ko-Ko." He said, shooting her a smile before walking off into the night.

Korin smiled softly to herself as she then watched him walk away.

"Ugh! Mom, okay, gosh!" Brady let out a loud huff as he snapped his phone shut. "I gotta go." He told the rest of the group before turning to his best friend. "Col, you coming?"

Collin nodded and stood up with his best friend.

"It was nice meeting you, Korin. You're a real cool cat." Brady said, shooting the undead girl a polite smile.

Collin nodded and waved before they, too, disappeared across the sands.

"Wow." Seth muttered, staring curiously after the young shifters. "Brady's not usually so polite... Or well behaved."

Korin chuckled, causing Seth to shoot her a goofy grin; 'the Seth grin' - as she liked to call it. The grin that used to make her squeal in adoration and want to hug him until his insides exploded. He really was the most adorable little kid she had ever seen. But now, when he grinned at her like that, she felt as those her insides might explode. Although, in a different, but most wonderful way.

"How about we carry on partying back at our place?" Leah piped up, glancing mainly over at her best friend.

Korin shrugged casually. "Yeah, whatever. I go where you go, Lil. You know that."

Leah grinned. "And don't you forget it, Rin-Tin."

Korin gasped, her eyes widened. "Never!" She hissed dramatically.

"Well, if you lovely ladies are in, then I'm in, too." Solan piped up, smiling over at the stunning she wolf.

Seth rolled his eyes, but simply couldn't wipe the silly grin from his face. "Yeah, let's go." He agreed. "You guys coming with us?" He asked, glancing towards the others.

"Nah, man. I got shitty work in the morning, and then, shitty patrol right after." Embry stated, wearing a rather annoyed look. "See you guys later." He stood up, waving them off before shuffling away across the sand.

"We're heading out, too." Jared piped up as he and a sleepy-looking Kim rose to their feet in unison.

"Night." Seth gave him a curt nod.

"Night." Jared saluted them, Kim waving in the process before they, too, slowly disappeared into the night.

And then there was only Quil left -- who simply glanced around, noticing this and then glanced back to Seth. "Yeah, okay. I'm in, too. I got nothing better to do."

Seth scoffed. "Well, don't force yourself now."

+

Seth wondered what was taking so long. His concern got the better of him (as usual) and before he even knew what was happening, his feet were already walking him into his kitchen. He halted in the doorway when his eyes landed on his imprintee.

Korin stood over the sink, her head limp and her hands gripping the counter tightly.

Seth took a few steps closer, his concern growing by the moment. "Rin?" He asked, his voice barely above a quiet mutter. "Are you okay?"

Korin inhaled a deep and worthless breath, her hands finally slipping down by her sides. She forced the horrid flashbacks to the hidden part of her mind, forcing on a bright grin instead and then slowly turned to face him.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She told the concerned shifter as she mustered up the best smile that she could.

Seth eyed her warily for a moment. He didn't believe her, but he didn't want to start up another argument. He just didn't have the strength to go against this bond between them. The one that had always been between them. And of course, the magic of the imprint bond only added fuel to that fire within him.

"Yo, dopes! What's taking so shitting long!?" Leah called out from the living room.

Seth cursed under his breath at his sister before shuffling over to the fridge. He pulled out his sister's half-empty bottle of tequila and another four beers.

"Here, lemme help you." Korin said, rushing over to take some of the bottles from him.

"No, it's cool. I got it." Seth told her, shooting her a grateful smile.

Korin halted and nodded. "Right. Wolf strength." She mumbled, shooting him a sheepish little smile in return. 'What the heck is wrong with me!? This is Seth! Seth! And I'm acting like a damn school girl with a stupid little crush!'

Seth chuckled quietly, simply nodded in response. "Come on, let's get back with the booze before they come looking for our blood." He joked, shooting her another goofy, Seth-like grin.

Korin found herself smiling back automatically and while she knew that she probably looked like a weird person, she couldn't care any less. All she knew was that she finally had her family back; that she had been given a second chance (for whatever reason) and that; Seth was still talking, let alone joking with her again.

She followed closely behind the shifter as they made their way back into the small, but cosy living room.

"Alright, Kozza?" Solan asked, shooting his fellow undead friend a slightly concerned look.

Korin smiled brightly and nodded. "Yeah. I was just clearing my head." She explained simply with a casual shrug.

Solan nodded in acknowledgement. "We thought you'd died. Again." He joked, shooting her a playful smirk.

Seth glared daggers over at his sister's imprint as he walked over to the coffee table and dumped all of the booze bottles down.

Leah, too, seemed to be glaring at her imprint for that comment. Even if she knew it was a joke. And even if she loved this guy, she still loved Korin, deeply, also.

And then, there was Quil, who couldn't help let out a rather drunken giggle. It had been a long time since he'd had the time to actually get drunk. And he was going to enjoy himself.

Korin chuckled, too. "I'm already dead, you noob." She pointed out with a "duh" expression.

"Oh... Yeah..." Solan mumbled, looking slightly self-insulted at his idiotic error.

Sometimes he still forgot. That he was dead, that is.

Korin chuckled again, shaking her head in amusement. She hobbled further into the room, making her way over to the couch and taking the space between Seth and Quil.

"Sooo?" Quil chirped after a few moments of comfortable (boring) silence. "Are we gonna get drunk, or what?"

Leah snorted. "You are drunk."

"Exactly." Quil stated, wearing an all too serious expression. "I'm drunk. I said, "we" - "are we gonna get drunk?" Duh, Leah!" He scoffed, rolling his eyes.

Korin chuckled. "I think I like drunk Quil. He's got sas. Sassy Quil. Hmm." She chirped, shooting the shifter a fond grin.

Quil grinned back at her, looking rather proud of himself. "Well, thank you, Ko-Ko Beans!"

"Ugh, I wish you guys wouldn't call me that." Korin grumbled, shooting him a playful glare.

Seth smiled to himself as he reached over the coffee table and began to pour out shots of tequila for everyone.

Even if things were still kind of weird between him and Korin, he still hadn't felt this happy since, well, since everything that had happened.

"Oh, suck it up, babes. We know you love it." Quil retorted. He shot her a smug grin as he reached for his sixteenth bottle of beer.

"That's as maybe." Korin replied snootily. Though, she still couldn't help smirking in amusement, even if she tried hard not to.

"So, what's the plan? Ring Of Fire? Or Truth Or Dare? Or I've Never...?" Solan piped up, glancing curiously around at the others.

"Nah, fuck that all of that shit, bro'! We should just get wasted, and regret nothing, I say." Quil said, wearing his usual silly grin.

Leah wrinkled her nose, but nodded in agreement. "Yeah... Yeah, I like that plan... A lot."

Korin and Seth shared a smirk, whereas Solan smiled broadly at the she wolf, almost proudly, in fact.

"Right. It's not often that we're able to get totally trashed." Quil stated, the excitement clear in his dark brown orbs.

Solan nodded, wearing a small smirk of his own. "Then, enough talk! Drink! Everybody!" He exclaimed before quickly grabbing his tequila shot and swallowing the liquid in one go.

The others quickly followed the undead man's lead and grabbed their own shots before downing them, as well.

"Woo! That shit is nasty!" Quil squealed, wrinkling his face tightly.

"But oh-so good." Leah purred, licking her lips for any left over drops, unaware of Solan tracking the movement very carefully.

Korin chuckled at that both imprints, though, mostly at Leah. "This girl," She said, pointing to her soul sister. "Is a fucking robot when it comes to drinking. Seriously, even before the whole shifter metabolism thing, she could literally drink anybody under the table." She then, added with an absurdly proud grin, "Anybody stupid enough, that is."

"Um... Ew." Quil muttered, clearly misunderstanding.

Korin rolled her eyes at him, but couldn't help smiling in amusement. "Ugh... Perv."

+

Seth woke up feeling groggy, tired (although, that was nothing new) and incredibly uncomfortable. Before he'd even opened his eyes, he could tell that he'd ended up passing out on the floor. His eyes finally snapped open, however, when he felt something shift slightly beside him.

He glanced around, finding that he had passed out just in front of the couch, while Quil was greedily spread out across the entire thing. He rolled his eyes, glaring at his snooring, older pack brother and then, finally cast his gaze down to the slumbering undead girl tucked between him and the bottom of the couch.

Seth's lips slowly pulled into a soft smile as his eyes raked over her pale, scarred and yet, still flawless features. And for a few minutes, he found himself lost inside of his many streaming thoughts.

It wasn't until his sensitive ears picked up that third heartbeat. His eyes widened slightly, both in a confused and an astounded way.

Seth froze for a moment and then slowly leaned his head down to her chest. He stopped just before any contact, closed his eyes and simply listened for the few seconds. But nothing. Nothing at all. Not a bump nor thud to be heard.

Slowly, he leaned back up and frowned, his confusion growing quickly. He shook his head to himself, shaking it off as his imagination. He then, tried to shift slightly, trying to get at least a little more comfortable. He cursed himself quietly under his breath to himself when her eyes suddenly snapped open.

Korin's eyes were wide as she tried to scramble to her feet as quickly as possible.

"Rin? Rin, what's wrong?" Seth asked as he jumped up to his own bare feet.

Korin wanted to answer him, really, she did. But right now, she felt like her insides were on fire. Again. And she knew exactly why. She froze for a brief moment, trying to ignore the dizzy sensation.

"Rin, talk to me... Please." Seth whispered desperately, his adorable face contorted heavily with concern.

Korin tried to open her mouth automatically, but instantly regretted it as she felt the bile already rising up through her throat. She instantly slapped both her hands over her mouth before turning around as hobbling through the small house as fast as she possibly could. She shoved open the bathroom door and lunged straight for the toilet before finally allowing herself to throw up the horrible black liquid.

"Shit, Rin." Seth mumbled.

He looked as bad as she felt, but was beside her in a matter of seconds anyway. Even if he couldn't bare to see her like this, there was no way he could ever leave her.

With or without the imprint.


	23. We're the Same

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "It's okay. I'm like you. We're the same."

Korin let out a tired groan as she reached forward to pull the lever. She watched the toilet flush, the thick, inky, black fluid swirling around before washing completely away. She sat back on her bare heels, wincing slightly as she swallowed the nasty taste still in her mouth.

God, it tasted like fucking poison.

Thank the Spirits she was already dead, then.

Still beside her, Seth let out a little breath of relief at her finally relaxed features. "You okay, Rin?" He asked, his voice barely above a mumble as he eyed her closely.

He knew that it was probably a stupid question, but he couldn't help it, always feeling like a reflex for him to do so.

Korin nodded limply, her shoulders slumped with exhaustion.

Seriously, how the heck did zombies even get sleepy?

Sure, she slept, like the dead, but she never felt tired.

Until now, apparently...

"I'd offer to bring you a glass of water, but..." That was Seth's idea of a lighthearted joke and it seemed to work.

The corner of Korin's lips tweaked upwards ever so slightly, a faint, almost drowsy smile lingering for a few seconds.

And okay, it wasn't much, but it was enough for the shifter.

Without even thinking about his actions, Seth slowly raised a hand to her pale and slightly sweaty face, curled his fingers around her dark strands and gently swiped the bangs away from her dark brown orbs.

And it wasn't anything more for him than it used to be, all those times he had done this before. It felt the same. Like everything was okay. Like nothing had really changed.

Only, everything had changed...

As Korin's gaze lifted to his, for the first time, she was pretty darn grateful that he couldn't hear her heart, because she was pretty darn certain that if it could still beat, it would be beating out of her fricking chest right now.

'Dear Spirits, what is wrong with me? I can't like Seth... I just... I can't... Can I? ...No! I can't!'

Seth stared back at her, unable to look away as his own heart hammered quietly away. "Rin," He croaked softly, gulping silently before continuing. "I -"

"Solan!? Solan!"

Both Korin and Seth's heads snapped towards the open bathroom doorway at the sound of Leah's rather terrified yell.

"Solan, stop! Stop!! It's me! It's Leah!!"

Seth didn't waste another second as he darted out of the bathroom.

Korin, however, knew that her heart would have sunk in realisation right now. Y'know, if she were still alive, that is...

And in the next moment, she finally seemed to snap out of her stupor, her eyes widening in realisation, instead. She then, quickly hobbled out of the bathroom after the shifter at the sound of an almighty commotion.

"What the fuck!?" Seth practically squealed. "What's wrong with him!?"

"I don't know! He was fine a minute ago! And then his nose just started fricking bleeding! And then, he started going fricking crazy!" Leah yelped back, sounding rather desperate now.

Korin hurried down the hallway as fast as she possibly could, her eyes widening all the more as she finally reached the living room. "Solan..." Her gaze landed on him instantly.

"Rin?" Leah asked warily, glancing helplessly between her best friend and her imprint. "Rin, what's going on?"

Korin took in the familiar creature's pale white, crystal orbs, glazed over in pure hunger as he stared back at the she wolf.

"L-Leah," Solan managed, somehow, to find that last shred of control. "Y-you h-have to... K-kill m-me..."

"What!? No!!" Leah snapped, looking completely bewildered and rather hurt. "What the fuck is going on!? Rin!!" She glanced helplessly at her best friend.

"He's turning back into a rabid." Korin finally found her voice from who the heck even knows where. "He must've missed his last dose."

"I f-f-forgot, I'm s-so s-sorry..." Solan whimpered, the cold and sticky blood flowing out of both his nostrils and both his ears. And then, even from his mouth as he suddenly lurched over, his hands cradling his aching stomach as he threw up even more of the dark ruby claret.

"Oh, damn!" Seth's eyes widened in horror. "Shit... Shit! What the fuck do we do!?"

"Leah," Korin instantly took charge.

How? She really didn't know. She was just on auto pilot right now. She wasn't good for much, that may have been true, but she was good at this, good at being with her own kind.

"The black case, under my bed. Get it, and hurry."

Leah nodded before darting quickly off.

"What can I do, Rin?" Seth asked, shooting her a look of concern.

"Just help me hold him down before he does any real damage." Korin replied as she hobbled towards her undead friend.

Seth slowly followed after her, a little more warily, of course.

He still didn't really know what he was really dealing with here. And Korin had already told him outright that she didn't want to talk to him about any of that. Which really did bum him the fuck out. And maybe it was his fault for not being entirely honest with her about the Rising. But right now, he figured there were more important things to deal with.

"Solan?" Korin called out to him, her voice soft as she approached him with care. "Solan, it's me, it's Korin."

Solan only let out a low groan before slowly straightening his back. And then, just as slowly, he turned around to face her.

Korin gulped silently as she noticed the hazy, white storm clouds in her fellow undead's pale orbs. "Solan?" She whispered, slowly reaching out to him.

Seth flinched slightly, his nerves getting the better of him. Somehow, he felt like something bad was about to happen. "Rin..." He warned, and by then, it was already too late.

Korin's eyes widened in fright as Solan lurched forward, shoving her violently onto the floor.

"Rin!" Seth snarled as the undead man made a beeline towards him instead.

"Seth! Don't kill him!" Leah roared, finally appearing with the small shot in her hands.

"I wasn't gonna! Jeez!" Seth snapped back as he grabbed the half-crazed, undead man by the throat and threw him onto the couch, by the window. And when the undead man growled at him and tried to get back up, the shifter growled back in warning as he grabbed his throat, and slammed him back down into the couch.

Solan suddenly whimpered, lowering his gaze from the angry shifter.

Seth's angry expression faltered slightly. Though, it was mainly out of surprise.

The creature was actually afraid of him. Or maybe, just maybe, he remembered who he was, deep down. Either way, it made the shifter back off, though, only a little with his hand still wrapped firmly around the undead's cold throat.

"Seth!" Leah let out a low warning growl, shooting her little brother a firm look.

"He's fine. I'm not hurting him." Seth huffed, rolling his eyes at her.

"It's okay. You can let him go, now." Korin hauled herself back up and slowly hobbled over to the two males.

Seth shot her a slightly hesitant look.

Korin smiled reassuringly. "Trust me, he's okay." She repeated with a firm nod. "There's still time. He's not too far gone."

Seth let out another little huff, but did as he was told as finally released the undead. He took a small couple of steps back, staying close, just in case.

Korin slowly moved a little closer, only halting when Solan let out another whimper, even slightly recoiling from her. "It's okay." She held up her hands, showing him that she wasn't a threat. "It's okay, Solan." She used his name, knowing by experience that it helped, a lot. Slowly, she reached up, carefully taking out her right contact lense, using her other hand to rub against the makeup on her right cheek, until her true marred and pale flesh was finally revealed.

Seth's heart raced as his mind briefly flashed back to the night he had found her. He felt frozen to his spot, unable to move at all as he stared at her now, half-covered face. She also effortlessly slipped out one of her contacts, showing her true white crystal orbs, just like his.

Solan let out another whimper as Korin lifted her gaze to meet his, revealing herself to him. "It's okay." She repeated, smiling reassuringly. "It's okay. I'm like you. We're the same."

Solan seemed to relax a little as he stared curiously back up at her.

"Leah," Korin held out her hand.

Leah rushed over, beside her in an instant as she handed over the shot, already set up.

Korin shot the she wolf a grateful smile in return as she carefully took the shot from her. Turning back to Solan, she slowly etched forward, placing her free hand gently at the back of his head.

Leah winced slightly, as she always did whenever it was done to Korin as the shot was quickly given.

Solan lurched forward, Korin handing the empty shot quickly back to the she wolf. Korin crouched down, grabbing his shoulders and holding him steady as he shook for a few moments.

And she was also a little surprised to see that he didn't suffer as bad as she did (so fucking unfair!) Then again, she figured that it was different for everyone. Just like any human taking any kind of drug.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Leah asked, her eyes still slightly widened in concern.

As if on cue, Solan's body relaxed considerably, a soft, pained groaned slipping past his bloody lips.

Korin smiled, rubbing his shoulders comfortingly. "Yeah." She let out a breath of relief. "He will be. He just needs to sleep it off, now."

Leah nodded. "He can take my bed. It's cool. I can just buy another mattress." She shrugged. Because yeah, imprint; more important that stupid money.

Seth frowned slightly at his sister.

How the heck was she so calm right now? After what happened, and while talking to Korin like she didn't look half-dead right now.

His frown only deepened at that as he mentally scalded himself. Yeah, maybe this was his own issue here. Because, it wasn't as if he didn't still have nightmares.

And really, how could he even think of blaming his Rin?

He really couldn't.

"Whoa! What the frig happened to him!?" Quil suddenly piped up, from his forgotten place on the opposite couch.

To which, both shifters glared at him, whereas Korin simply chuckled.

+

Seth gulped silently as he stood in the open doorway of his imprintee's bedroom.

Korin sighed, glancing back at his reflection as she stood in front of her full-length mirror. "It's okay. I know it's a bit of a shock. The first time I looked at my reflection - after I started my treatment - I almost passed out... Y'know... If I could still do that." She offered a sheepish smile as she placed both her contacts back in the small box before hobbling over to her dresser and placing them on top.

"No," Seth frowned, biting lightly at his bottom lip. "It's not that. I don't care about that."

Korin shot him a curious look.

Seth slowly moved closer, until he was standing a mere foot in front of her.

And even from that distance, Korin could still feel the heat radiating off of his entire form. And it was very distracting. And with that thought, her gaze automatically averted from his.

"Rin,"

Korin frowned slightly as her eye caught an unfamiliar little, white scar on the top side of his left hand. "What's this?" She asked quietly, ghosting a finger over the small round mark.

It looked very much like a fingernail had been clawed into his skin. Or maybe it was a tooth mark.

But from what?

And unless he'd gotten it before he had first shifted, then again; from what?

"It's nothing." Seth slowly pulled his hand from hers. "Just a stupid fight at school."

Korin arched a brow, noticing his intent to suddenly avoid eye contact with her. "I know when you're lying, Seth." She scalded him slightly.

And it was true. She always knew when he was lying.

"What are you not telling me?" She asked, her voice sterner.

"It's nothing." Seth repeated with a tired sigh. Though, at least he finally had the guts to look up at her.

"Liar." Korin muttered, wearing a deep scowl as she glared half-heartedly up at him.

"I'm not lying." Seth muttered back defiantly.

And he wasn't, not really. It had been from a fight in school.

He just didn't feel like letting her in on the rest of the details. Ever.

Korin let out an annoyed huff. "Fine. Whatever you say." She rolled her eyes at him before walking around him and making her way out of her room.

"Rin, wait," Seth followed quickly, stood in front of her within a mere couple of seconds.

"What?" Korin arched a brow, staring expectantly up at him, but expecting nothing.

And predictably, that's just what she got. Well, at least, nothing she wanted to hear. Although, maybe she should have cut him some slack here, seeing as how he wasn't the only one hiding things. Ugh. Why did she have to be the grown-up here? It wasn't fair!

"Look," She let out a defeated sigh when he seemed to hesitate over his words, again. "It's okay. You don't have to tell me. I understand if there are things that you can't tell me. And besides, it's not as if we're best friends anymore. Not after what I did. So, I get it. You don't have to share. It's fine... Anyway, I need to check up on Solan, so..."

And then, somehow, she managed to slap on a cheerful smile before gently brushing passed him and heading down the hallway.


	24. Absolutely Perfect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You should see her, too. She's absolutely perfect..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Chapter by MentalMassDebation.]

Korin hobbled down the hallway and around the corner just as the she wolf was coming out of her bedroom. She stood, unsure of what to really say to her.

Leah swirled around to face her best friend. "You okay, Rin?" She asked, eyeing the undead girl with some concern.

"Me?" Korin arched a brow, looking slightly surprised.

"Well, yeah, I mean... Have you ever seen a rabid while on your treatment?" Leah asked, staring curiously.

"Um, yeah, actually." Korin nodded. "They had a few of them on lock-down, while I was at the P.D.S. Centre."

She decided right then and there that the she wolf didn't need to know the details about what happened to the rapids. Besides, it wasn't much of a secret to the public anyway. And it wasn't as though most of the people gave a crap about the undead. Not after all the chaos they had caused.

Leah simply nodded in acknowledgement, sensing that the undead girl didn't really want to talk about it.

And that was okay, because the she wolf knew that Korin would come and talk to her, eventually, in her own time. Although, she just hoped it was sooner rather than later, because she also knew that not everyone was so forgiving and understanding towards the Rising as the people of La Push were. Especially not after the Pale Wars that followed the Rising.

"Are you okay, Lil?" Korin asked, looking somewhere between concerned and curious.

"Yeah." Leah nodded, again. "Just kinda, I dunno... Shocked, I guess?" She smiled sheepishly. "I mean, I've seen plenty of rabids before - even had to take a few of 'em out when they broke into the house... Shit -" She winced, seeing her error, but not before it was too late. "Sorry. I'm not boasting or anything."

"It's fine, I understand." Korin shot her a small, but reassuring smile.

And okay, it wasn't really fine. But she still understood.

And she knew Leah well enough to know she was being honest.

And on top of all of that, she also knew that unlike some of the other shifters, Leah didn't really embrace the wolf spirit in her as much as they did; didn't really embrace the natural killer instincts she felt, even if she hated (most - well, nearly all) vampires; the reason for her being in the first place.

"He's awake, by the way." Leah said, motioning towards her bedroom door. "Said he needed a minute to himself. But I think what he needs right now is you."

"Me?" Again, Korin arched a brow, looking rather surprised. "But you're his -"

"I know." Leah nodded, smiling weakly. "But..." She sighed tiredly. "You understand what he's going through better than I do. And if I need to take a step to let other people, who know what they're doing to help him, then that's what I'll do."

Korin stared back up at the taller girl for a few moments. And it's not as if she actually knew what she was doing, as the she wolf had just stated, but she was still touched, nonetheless. "You're not as cold-hearted as you make yourself out to be, y'know that, Lil?" She smiled fondly.

"Tell no one." Leah scoffed quietly, her dark orbs lit up lightly with amusement. "Even you knowing is pushing it, slightly."

Korin chuckled lightly. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me. I promise to take it back to my grave with me."

"Ugh!" Leah wrinkled her nose. "You have a dark sense of humour, Sealwood."

"Yeah, well," Korin shrugged casually. "If I don't joke about it, I'll go insane." She stated seriously, though, while wearing a rather large and cheesy grin.

Leah rolled her eyes, but couldn't help smiling a little. "Anyway," She began, smoothly changing the subject. "Where's Seth?"

Korin shrugged, again. "I dunno. Can't you sniff him out?" She smirked as the she wolf glared at her. "What?" She asked, looking far too innocently back up at her.

"Okay, yeah, I could." Leah rolled her eyes, again. "But I can't right now. He's not in the house. That's why I asked you, smartass." She stated snootily.

Korin frowned, her gaze flickering back down the empty hallway. "Wait - he's not?" She mumbled absentmindedly. 'Was it something I said?' Her frown only deepened. 'Ugh! Of course it was! I am such a stupid bitch!'

"What happened?" Leah snarled lightly. "What'd he say to you, this time!?"

"What?" Korin glanced back to the angry she wolf, looking slightly confused now. "No, nothing." She shook her head. "It wasn't Seth."

Leah calmed down a little, a concerned look flitting across her face, again. "Then, what happened?" She repeated, her voice softer.

"It's nothing." Korin murmured, repeating Seth's previous words.

Leah sighed in defeat, but nodded. "Things will get better, Rin." She assured the undead girl, even offering a small, but bright smile for reassurance. "You'll see."

Korin smiled sheepishly. "Yeah." She nodded in agreement. "But it just feels like things are gonna have to get a whole lot worse beforehand..."

+

Korin closed the she wolf's bedroom door quietly behind her. Slowly, she turned to face the other undead, who was sat at the end of the bed with his head, limp in his hands and his elbows resting at his knees. "Stupid question, but are you okay?" She mumbled into the deafening silence. She had always hated silences.

With a loud sigh, Solan lifted his head, his hands rubbing his knees awkwardly. He lifted his gaze, pale white crystal meeting fake brown and simply nodded in response.

Korin slowly hobbled over and sat herself down beside him. And even if she hated silences, she would keep his for him until he was ready to break it. And thankfully, for her own sanity, it became sooner than she thought.

"I'm so, so sorry, Kozza." Solan said, his voice barely above a whisper.

"It's okay. It's over now." Korin tried to reassure him.

Solan only shook his head. "No... It's never over." He mumbled miserably. "We're stuck, like this... Forever... Or at least, until the Second Rising comes," He scoffed. "If that bullshit's even real."

Korin frowned, but said nothing. She didn't particularly believe in the Second Rising. However, she supposed that any-fricking-thing was possible.

"Where's Leah?" Solan asked, now looking slightly anxious.

Korin smiled lightly. "Kitchen. Shifters are always hungry."

Solan smiled faintly at her attempts to cheer him up. "Is she okay?" He asked timidly.

Korin nodded. "Yeah. She's just trying to process what happened... What did happen?" She asked, staring curiously at him.

Solan sighed loudly in defeat. "I forgot. It's as simple, and as stupid as that." He shook his head in dismay of himself.

"But how?" Korin asked, staring incredulously. How could he forget something like that? She wasn't angry, she just didn't really understand.

"I just," Solan shot her a helpless look. "All I can think about lately is Leah, and I'm really not blaming what happened on her, but I can't help it. I just totally spaced it."

Korin smiled widely, unable to help herself. "Okay, well, how about you let me remind you from now on, okay?"

Solan smiled gratefully and nodded. "Yeah... Yeah, thanks, Kozza."

"No problem." Korin chirped.

"So, um," Solan hesitated, looking slightly timid, again. "I didn't freak her out with the whole... Well, this?" He asked, motioning towards his true undead features.

"Nope." Korin replied with a fond grin. "She's seen worse things, what with protecting the reservation from vampires and all. Seriously, she's a lot tougher than she looks. She's my rock."

Solan smiled at that and nodded. "She looks out for you. She loves you. I can tell, even if she doesn't show it."

Korin's smile widened as she nodded in response.

"Seth, too, y'know." Solan added, shooting her a blatant knowing smirk.

And any other time, Korin would have glared at him for that little comment. Instead, her expression faltered slightly, her gaze falling to her lap. "Right..." She mumbled, her shoulders slumping automatically.

And now, she just felt totally miserable. And it wasn't anyone's fault, but her own, of course. It always was. But that's okay. She was used to it by now.

Solan noticed her slightly fallen expression and decided to leave the matter alone. This time around, anyway. Instead, he swiftly moved onto another topic, one they both had in common. "So, uh, out of curiosity... Do you remember anything about the night of the Rising?"

Korin shot him an odd look, but answered anyway. "Yeah..."

Solan eyed her carefully. "What'd you remember the most?"

And really, he didn't need to ask, but he felt like he did anyway, for some reason.

After tonight, the way the young undead girl had handled his situation, he was beginning to wonder.

Korin sighed quietly before replying. "The hunger." It was an obvious answer, but it was the truth.

Solan nodded, an all too understanding expression written into his pale features. "Yeah..."

"I remember most of what happened. But it's all kinda fuzzy." Korin said.

"The thing I remember most..." Solan smiled faintly. "I could hear the others, walking above my grave. And when I finally made it to the surface, a few of 'em actually helped me out of the ground."

Korin frowned, looking both confused and troubled. "Wait - how many of us rose alongside you?"

Solan shot her a strange look. "We all rose at the same time, Kozza."

"But..." Korin's frown only deepened as her mind briefly flashed back to the night of the Rising.

Was there something wrong with her?

Even in death?

Even after death?

It seemed so.

"But I wasn't... I didn't..."

Solan's expression turned a little more serious as the realisation finally dawned on him. "Korin," He waited until her gaze flew back to his. "Did you rise alone?" He asked, somewhat timidly.

"I..." Korin stared helplessly back at the other undead. "I think I did, yeah..."

"What'd you remember?" Solan asked, looking up at her with keen interest now.

"There was no one..." Korin's frown deepened all the more as she tried to remember that night. But all she could see were fuzzy flashes of the events. And it was like looking through someone else's eyes. Which didn't help her in the slightest.

"It was dark, really dark... And I... I couldn't see much. Couldn't hear much, neither... It was so quiet... Peaceful, almost... But I... I was alone..."

Solan knew that if his heart could still beat, right now, it would be beating a hundred miles an hour. "What about the other graves?" He whispered, gently urging the memories out of her. "Were they disturbed?"

"I..." Korin closed her eyes for a few moments. "I don't think so... I... Everything was normal... Everything was... The way I left it..."

Solan immediately noticed her hands shaking slightly and quickly rose from the bed to grab them both gently in his own. "It's okay, Kozza. Let's just change the subject." He whispered before pulling her close and wrapping his arms around the back of her shoulders for comfort.

Korin nodded her head against his chest, lifting her arms and enclosing them around his waist. "Thank you." She mumbled out against his shirt.

Solan smiled brightly and gave her shoulders a light squeeze. "No problem. We're best dead friends forever, right?" He chirped.

Korin managed a quiet chuckle. "Right. Forever."

+

When Solan had apologised another twenty times, to both Leah and Korin, he finally made his way back to his own apartment, up in Forks.

He entered his bedroom, grabbing his phone from his jacket pocket and put it on 'speed-dial 6' as he perched at the end of his single bed.

"'We are forever an instrument of our Prophet -'"

Solan closed his eyes as he spoke. "'- And forever, we all shall walk with Him.'"

"My friend, it's been a while."

"It has. But I finally bring good news." A small smile tugged at the corners of Solan's lips. "I've found the First Risen..."

There was a short paused before the other undead man answered. "You're sure of this?"

"Oh, I am certain." Solan rose from his bed, shuffling over to the window, over-looking the small, but brightly lit up town.

"You've seen for yourself?"

It clearly wasn't a question, but Solan answered anyway. "Ah, that, I have, Teddy-boy." He grinned to himself, already feeling the excitement bubbling up from within. "You should see her, too. She's absolutely perfect..."


End file.
